Harry Potter and the Yellow Quartet
by Michael in Arizona
Summary: In an alternative universe in which Ron Weasley doesn't exist, Harry makes three different new friends on his first train ride to Hogwarts. These friendships will define Harry and his life in a different Hogwarts house.
1. Harry's First Friends

Harry Potter was alone. Truly alone.

Harry had just been dropped off by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia and found himself in the middle of King's Cross Station.

Hagrid had told Harry to stick to his ticket. but it seemed as though Hagrid had forgotten some kind of instructions.

Harry's ticket said platform nine and three quarters, but he couldn't see any such platform.

Logically figuring that such a platform would be between platforms nine and ten, Harry pushed his trolley to the area between platforms nine and ten.

Harry was unable to locate platform nine and three quarters and after a few minutes he was feeling terrified.

Having no clue what to do now and filled with queasiness, Harry stood frozen still when he suddenly noticed a few people with trunks like his.

Now fixing his eyes on these people hoping for a clue as to what to do, Harry saw that they were running at the wall between platforms nine and ten and vanishing.

Suddenly realizing what he had to do, Harry moved quickly before his nerves could get the better of him.

Harry ran at the wall as fast as his feet would take him and before he knew it, he was standing on platform nine and three quarters.

He quickly saw a huge scarlet train with the words Hogwarts Express 5972 on it and felt extremely relived.

His eyes telling him the front compartments were pretty much full, Harry pushed his trolley to very back of the Hogwarts Express.

Harry saw that the very last compartment was empty and attempted to lift up his trunk off the trolley to place it in the compartment's luggage rack.

However, the trunk was extremely heavy, and Harry dropped it painfully on his left foot several times.

Some people made fun of Harry as they passed by.

"Weakling, " said one older boy in a mocking voice as he saw Harry drop the trunk.

"Ahh, look, " sneered a pale blonde boy who was wearing a Slytherin scarf, "Skinny boy can't even lift a trunk!"

After a few minutes of the struggle and the mocking that had come with it, a tall albino girl approached Harry.

"Do you need assistance with that trunk?" the albino girl asked Harry.

"Yes, please, " replied Harry desperately. "I've been struggling with this trunk for at least five minutes."

The albino girl lifted Harry's trunk into the luggage rack for him and then put up her own.

"Thank you for helping me with my trunk, " said Harry sincerely.

Without thinking much about it, Harry and the albino girl took seats next to each other.

"Are you a first year as well?" the albino girl asked Harry.

"Yes, I am, " said Harry matter of factly, "What's your name then?"

"Amy Alworth, " answered the albino girl, "What's yours?"

"Harry Potter-

"HARRY POTTER! The real Harry Potter!" said Amy eagerly.

"Yes, " said Harry simply.

Once Amy had calmed down, she asked Harry, "Do you really have the lightning bolt scar?"

Harry pulled back his bangs to show Amy the lightning bolt scar.

"Wicked!" oozed Amy in a voice that gave off an aura she'd just seen the coolest thing ever.

As Amy continued to look at Harry's scar, Harry felt more and more uncomfortable until the discomfort showed in his face.

Amy looked away and said, "Sorry, Harry. Trust me, I'm not a fangirl. But I've just recently learned about magic and the Wizarding World and Hogwarts and-

"No worries, I just learned about them about a month ago too, " explained Harry.

"How could that be?' asked Amy in a confused voice, "Professor McGonagall told me I'm what's known in the Wizarding World as a muggleborn."

"What is a muggleborn?" asked Harry.

Amy looked more and more confused by what Harry didn't know, but she patiently answered, "A muggleborn is a witch or wizard born to parents who are both muggles. If one parent is magical and the other isn't, then their son or daughter is what is known as a half blood. If a witch or wizard has a witch for a mother AND a wizard for a father, then he or she is known as a pureblood as long as all four of his or her grandparents were also magical. If a witch or wizard has two magical parents but at least one muggle amongst his or her grandparents, then he or she falls into the half blood category."

"How important is the distinction between muggleborns, half bloods, and purebloods?" asked Harry.

"I haven't been in the Wizarding World long enough to know, " answered Amy honestly, "But McGonagall did warn me that some people may place far more weight on so called "blood status" than is appropriate. She also warned me that some purebloods have a superiority complex."

Next nanosecond, the plump witch with the lunch trolley had arrived.

"Anything off the cart dears?" asked the plump witch kindly.

Amy shook her head sadly, "Can't. I don't have any money-

"Don't worry, " said Harry with a genuine smile, "Amy, you get whatever you want off the cart and I'll pay for you."

"Oh, thank you, Harry, that's very nice of you, " said Amy gratefully.

Turning to the plump witch, Harry asked, "Do you have Mars Bars?"

"I don't know what Mars Bars are, " said the plump witch, "You must be either muggleborn or muggle raised. Feel free to take a look at the cart for a few minutes to see what kinds of products we offer."

Harry stood up and took a close look at the cart.

"A chocolate frog, a licorice wand, and a bottle of Budweiser, " ordered Harry.

The plump witch handed Harry a chocolate frog, a licorice wand, and a bottle of Budweiser and Harry sat back down.

"Your turn, Amy, " said Harry brightly.

Amy got up and scanned the cart.

"How about a pumpkin pastry, a cauldron cake, and a bottle of Budweiser for me?"

The plump witch handed Amy a pumpkin pastry, a cauldron cake, and a bottle of Budweiser and Amy sat down again.

Harry paid the plump witch for both his and Amy's orders and she left.

"Harry, " said Amy sincerely, "I really appreciate you helping me out by paying for me here. I know you didn't have to do that-

"You didn't have to help me with my trunk, and you did. One act of kindness deserves another."

Harry and Amy grinned at each other.

After Harry and Amy finished eating, two girls appeared at the door of their compartment. One had blonde hair with pigtails and the other was a redhead.

"I'm Susan Bones and this is Hannah Abbott, " said the redhead, "Is it okay if Hannah and I sit in here. A fight has broken out in our compartment and we don't want to be caught in the middle of it."

"Of course, " chorused Harry and Amy.

"Are you two first years as well?" Amy asked Susan and Hannah.

"Yes, " said Susan and Hannah together.

"I'm Amy Alworth and this is Harry Potter, " introduction Amy.

Both Susan's and Hannah's eyes went wide at the mention of the name Harry Potter but neither said anything about it and they all exchanged handshakes before Susan and Hannah sat down opposite Harry and Amy.

Can any of you tell me about the houses?" Inquired Harry.

"No one knows how students are sorted into the houses until the sorting ceremony, " explained Susan, "It's like a rite of passage that you don't know until the time comes."

"From what I've been told, the houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, " said Amy.

"Each house is known for its own unique traits, " explained Hannah, "Slytherin is home to the most ambitious and cunning students."

"Ravenclaw is for the academic and the intelligent, " added Susan.

"And the bravest and the boldest dwell in Gryffindor, " said Hannah, "But Susan and I are both hoping for Hufflepuff."

"Why?" asked Harry and Amy together.

"Well, for one thing, we've both had family in Hufflepuff, " said Susan, "But that's not the real reason Hannah and I want Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff is the house of friendship and loyalty and those are the traits that Susan and I admire and value most, " said Hannah matter of factly.

"Hufflepuff does sound like the best house, " said Amy hopefully.

"I don't care what house I go into, " said Harry, "But whatever house I'm in, I hope you three are in it too."

Amy, Susan and Hannah all smiled at Harry.


	2. Unique Wands

Harry looked down at his watch and said, "We still have a few hours before we get to Hogwarts. This seems like a really good opportunity for us to get to know each other better. I'll start the conversation. My wand is holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. What about you three?"

"Willow and fwooper feather, ten inches, straight and stiff, " answered Susan.

"Fwooper feather?" chorused Harry and Amy in surprise. Neither of them knew what fwoopers were and neither of them remembered Olivander mentioning fwooper feather as a wand core.

"Not the most common wand core, " explained Hannah, "But every once in a while, a fwooper feather wand or two hits the market."

"You didn't seem surprised by what Susan's wand is though, " observed Harry.

"I already knew," said Hannah cheerfully, "I was with Susan when she got her wand. Susan and I went to Diagon Alley together. Susan and I have grown up as BFF's."

"What is a BFF?" asked Harry in a confused voice.

"Best friend forever, " explained Susan.

"What are fwoopers anyway?" inquired Amy.

"Birds, " explained Susan, "Brightly colored birds that come in pink, orange, yellow, and lime green."

"Nice vivid colors, " said Harry brightly.

"Yeah, fwoopers sound like they're really pretty birds, " said Amy warmly.

"Fwoopers are songbirds, " explained Hannah, "Fwooper song can be enjoyable but listening to too much of it will drive the listener insane. Fwoopers are sold with Silencing Charms on them, and fwooper owners are legally required to reapply Silencing Charms on their birds monthly. Owning a fwooper also requires a license due to the responsibility that comes with owing the creatures."

"Fwooper feathers are also used for quills, " said Susan matter of factly, "This is a MUCH more common use of fwooper feathers than their use as wand cores."

"And yet you a fwooper feather wand," piped up Hannah, "I'd be jealous, but as it turns out, I've got a pretty unique wand myself."

"It sounds like two may have been lucky enough to have gone to Olivander's on a day when he happened to be showcasing more unique wands, " said Harry.

"That's true, " admitted Hannah, "But the wands still had to choose us."

"And what's your wand then?" Harry asked Hannah.

"Cherry and niffler hair, eight inches, shiny and slippery, " answered Hannah.

"And what are nifflers? asked Amy.

"Creatures that are attracted to shiny objects, " replied Hannah, "Nifflers are black and fluffy. Though their disposition towards people is gentle, they can't be kept as pets or in houses because they are destructive to belongings."

"Are you the only person who owns a niffler hair wand?" Harry asked Hannah.

"No, " said Hannah simply, "But like Fwooper feathers wands, niffler hair wands are pretty rare."

"Well, "piped up Amy, "My wand consists of mahogany and dragon heartstring, twenty one inches, extremely powerful.

"Well, " smiled Harry. "Dragon heartstring might be a common wand core, but I'd guess offhand that twenty one inches is a record for longest wand ever."

"According to Olivander, it is, " said Amy proudly, "I can't wait for you three to see it. This is amazing. First, McGonagall told me that I'm the first albino to ever attend Hogwarts and then Olivander tells me I was chosen by the longest wand to ever existed. I'm totally awesome baby!"

"it looks I'm the only without a unique wand, " said Harry, "That's okay though, I'm happy for you three."

"What you do with your wand is more important than what kind you have, " said Amy reassuringly.

"I know that, " smiled Harry, who could not bring himself to tell his friends about his wand being related to Voldemort's wand, "Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn about your wands. I'm sure were all going to great at magic,"

"So, what should we talk about next?" asked Amy.


	3. The Yellow Quartet

Well, " asked Harry, "When are your birthdays? Mine is July 31st, 1980, at 4:44 A.M."

"ME TOO!" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah at the exact same nanosecond.

Harry. Amy, Susan. and Hannah all burst into fits of giggles.

"What are the odds that all four of us would share the same birthday!" said Susan amusedly.

"And the same birthtime to boot!" mused Hannah.

"Maybe one in nine hundred octillion, " smirked Amy.

"Maybe it's a sign the four of us are totally destined to be BFF's together, " smiled Hannah.

"I really do hope the four of us all end up in the same house, preferably Hufflepuff, "said Susan in a half nervous half hopeful voice.

"So, do I, " piped up Harry, "And I hope it's just the four of us."

"Why?" asked Amy curiously, "What would be wrong with making other friends as well?"

"At the end of the day, "said Harry clearly, "I think it's better to have two or three best friends and have strong bonds and meaningful relationships with them than to have something like twenty friends but not really be very close to any of them."

"Sorry, Amy, but I'm siding with Harry, " said Hannah firmly, "I know firsthand from my lifelong friendship with Susan how special those truly close friendships are. It would be nice to have more than one best friend, but I think two or three best friends is still more optimal than twenty causal friends."

"Exactly, " said Susan briskly, "Being part of a three to four person group with two or three best friends is the ticket."

"Hey, Amy, Susan, Hannah?" asked Harry.

"Yes?" responded Amy, Susan, and Hannah. "If by some miracle the four of us all end up in Hufflepuff and are the only students in our year to be in Hufflepuff, we call ourselves, "The Yellow Quartet?"

"You're on, Harry!" beamed Amy, Susan, and Hannah in unison.

…

"When I call your name, " said McGonagall seriously, "You shall come forth and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and your will be sorted into your houses."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were all feeling queasy but had they no time to dwell on that as McGonagall quickly called, "Abbot, Hannah."

Hannah walked up to the stool feeling nervous and jittery. Her entire family had been in Hufflepuff ever since the founding of Hogwarts and she desperately wanted to uphold that legacy. She also really wanted the whole "Yellow Quartet" thing to actually happen. McGonagall slowly placed the Sorting Hat on Hannah's head.

"Oh," said the Sorting Hat to Hannah, "Another Abbott eh? Another generation from one of the sacred twenty eight families? I know EXACTLY where you belong, Abbott, HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hannah, who was feeling more relieved than happy or excited, sat the Sorting Hat back down on the stool and walked slowly over to the Hufflepuff table and looked for a place to sit.

Hannah noticed that on the side of the Hufflepuff table nearest to the leftmost walls of the Great Hall, there were five empty seats at the left end of the table. Hannah sat down on the fourth seat from the left and put her hand on the third seat from the left as though saving it for someone.

"Alworth, Amy," called McGonagall next.

Amy practically galloped up to the stool and eagerly jammed the Sorting Hat on to her own head.

"Oh, please," said Amy desperately to the Sorting Hat, "Let me be in Hufflepuff."

"Well, Miss Alworth, " muttered the Sorting Hat, "You' aren't a coward, but you aren't the bravest person in the world either, you aren't dumb, but you aren't a genius either, and while having some resourcefulness in you, you would never take advantage of another person. You are, however, as loyal as a phoenix, therefore, it is only fitting that you shall find your calling in "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"YES!" screamed Amy as she yanked off the Sorting Hat, sat it back down on the stool. ran to the Hufflepuff table with the speed of a cheetah chasing its prey, "I'm in Hufflepuff! YOU LIKE THAT! YOU LIKE THAT!"

"I certainly do, " said Hannah with a smile.

Amy sat down, not at the seat Hannah was saving, but two seats to Hannah's left at the second seat from the left. Amy then placed her own hand on the leftmost seat

"Bones, Susan," called McGonagall once Amy was seated.

Susan made her way to the podium in a less enthusiastic way than Amy had but in a more confident manner than Hannah had. Susan was very glad her last name didn't start with the letter A.

Susan picked up the Sorting Hat and placed it on her head in a calm but confident way.

"Well, another Bones here," observed the Sorting Hat, "The Boneses have mixed between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for over a millennium. Interesting."

"I'd like to be in Hufflepuff," Susan told the Sorting Hat calmly, "I want to stick with Hannah. Hannah and I have been BFFs since we were just babies. And now that Amy is also in Hufflepuff, it really feels like the right house for me."

"Well, " said the Sorting Hat to Susan in an indecisive type of voice, "You're both brave enough for Gryffindor and true enough for Hufflepuff. However, your devotion to your friends makes you a perfect "HUFLEPUFF!"

Susan quickly but calmly put the Sorting Hat back down on the stool and went over to Hufflepuff table and sat herself between Amy and Hannah.

"Three down, one to go!" smiled Susan.

But they to wait a while for Harry's turn.

Over the next few minutes and the next few nanoseconds, Amy, Susan, and Hannah looked on as the Lavender Brown, Seamus Finnigan, Justin Finch Flecthly, Neville Longbottom, and Parvati Patil went to Gryffindor, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Anthony Goldstein, Hermione Granger, and Padma Patil went to Ravenclaw, and Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Ernie McMillian, Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson went to Slytherin.

Then it was time for

"Potter, Harry."

The nanosecond Harry's name was called, whispers could be heard echoing all throughout the hall.

"Potter? Did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

"The Boy Who Lived himself?"

Harry found himself in the uncomfortable position of having everyone in the Great Hall staring at him as he walked up to the stool. Harry put the hat on his head and listened intently.'

"Hmm, " said the Sorting Hat, "Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either, yes there's talent, and a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?"

"Hufflepuff!" Harry told the Sorting Hat once.

"Think about it, Potter, " said the Sorting Hat matter of factly, "Any of the four Hogwarts house can help you on the road to greatness. There's no doubt about that."

"I'll be happiest in Hufflepuff, " Harry told the Sorting Hat decisively, "Whatever greatness I'm destined for will be a happier greatness if I can share my life with Amy, Susan, and Hannah."

"If you're sure- " began the Sorting Hat.

"Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff," said Harry clearly.

"Better be HUFFLEPUFF!" finished the Sorting Hat.

Harry smiled as he laid the Sorting Hat back down the stool and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, sitting down on the leftmost seat next to Amy.

"We all made Hufflepuff," beamed Harry as he smiled at his three friends,

The sorting finished with Dean Thomas going to Gryffindor, Lisa Turpin going to Ravenclaw, and Blaise Zabini going to Slytherin.

After the sorting ended, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, all realizing that they were in Hufflepuff together and the only four Hufflepuffs in their year, all looked at each other and said, "THE YELLOW QUARTET!" in unison.


	4. A Much Needed Checkup

One of the nice things about being in Hufflepuff was that the roommate concept did not exist. Each Hufflepuff got his or her own dorm room. These rooms were somewhat small, but Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah didn't mind this. They were each extremely grateful to have their own dorm rooms.

On Monday, September 2nd at 5 A.N. Hogwarts time, Harry was awoken by a flying paper airplane hitting him squarely in the stomach. The paper airplane unfurled itself and Harry saw that there was bold black writing on it.

"Dear Mr. Potter, would you kindly dress and then come along to the hospital wing. I will escort you there as I will be standing just outside your door.

\- Hufflepuff Head of House, Pomona Sprout."

Harry had no idea why Professor Sprout wanted him to go to the hospital wing, but he got out of bed and dressed himself and met Professor Sprout outside his door.

Professor Sprout took Harry's hand and quietly led him to the hospital wing. When the passed through its doors, Harry saw that Amy, Susan, and Hannah were all there as was a woman he didn't recognize but assumed must be the school nurse.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, " said the nurse kindly, "I am Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts school nurse."

Looking at Amy, Susan, and Hannah, Harry let out a gasp.

"Has something happened to one of them?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey urgently. pointing at Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "At first I couldn't understand why Professor Sprout brought me up here. Is it to inform me of something that has happened to one or more of my friends?"

"Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott are perfectly fine, " said Madam Pomfrey reassuringly, "You on the other hand...…."

"Mr. Potter, " explained Professor Sprout, "After some observations Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott made about you yesterday, they came to me last night with their concerns. I, in turn, contacted Madam Pomfrey and we agreed that Madam Pomfrey would see you this morning. At their request, Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott have joined us here to keep you company and provide support as you will be undergoing some uncomfortable questioning and processes."

"Let's cut to the chase then, " said Harry, "I don't feel ill or sick. I mean, it's not like I lost my dinner last night or anything. What did Amy, Susan, and Hannah tell Professor Sprout that is so concerning?"

"Miss Alworth helped you with your trunk on the Hogwarts Express, I am correct Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Sprout.

"Yes, " said Harry, smiling at Amy, "I'd been struggling with my trunk for several minutes and people, including a boy I now know to be Draco Malfoy, mocked me about it. But when Amy came, she graciously offered to help me with my trunk and did so."

"Well, " said Professor Sprout, her voice turning more serious, "Miss Alworth told me that as she took your trunk, she noticed that you looked small, short, thin, and underfed."

"As a professional nurse, I only needed one look at Mr. Potter to see how malnourished he is, " said Madam Pomfrey uncomfortably.

"Could it just be hereditary?" asked Harry, "Were my parents small and short for their age when they were at Hogwarts?"

"James was small and short for his age when he was eleven, " answered Professor Sprout, "But not to as much of an extreme of an extent as you are. More importantly, he never looked thin or underfed."

"May I have permission to speak honestly about my home life?" asked Harry nervously.

"Not only do you have permission to do so, but we want you to do so, " said Professor Sprout encouragingly.

"There have been times when my aunt and uncle have used withholding of meals as punishment, " said Harry.

Amy, Susan, Hannah, Professor Sprout, and especially Madam Pomfrey cringed at the nonchalant way in which Harry said this. Clearly Harry was used to this.

"STRAVATION IS NOT A PUNISHMENT! IT IS ABUSE!" screamed Madam Pomfrey, "Mr. Potter is a growing boy! He needs three proper meals every day!"

"Would it be worse to be overfed?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.

"No, but it would be just as bad, "answered Madam Pomfrey, "Why do you ask?"

"My cousin Dudley is so overweight that in a few years he will be wider than he is taller," explained Harry, "He has no conception of moderation and his parents have never tried to instill it in him, " Harry told Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey gave a stiff and disapproving shake of her head.

"This Dudley will be dead before he's thirty, "said Madam Pomfrey.

"We'll keep that in mind, said Professor Sprout, "But for now our primary concern is Mr. Potter's well being."

"Exactly, "said Madam Pomfrey urgently, "There are a few things to keep in mind here. Hogwarts food is good quality for growing boys and girls thanks to the elite cooking skill of house elves. However, it is imperative that Mr. Potter NOT skip any meals, no matter his mood. Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott, would three kindly look after Harry and made sure he eats every meal every day while at Hogwarts?"

"Of course!" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Before you leave, " Madam Pomfrey told Harry, "I will be giving you a two week supply of Nutrient Potion. Bear in mind that while Nutrient Potion can help replenish some of the nutrition you've been missing, it will only do its job if combined with eating proper meals at present time. I want you to take Nutrient Potion with your dinner every night for the next two weeks. At that time, I will further reevaluate the situation."

"Okay then, " said Harry, "Any other concerns?"

"Miss Bones and Miss Abbott joined you and Miss Alworth in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express just after lunch, right?" Professor Sprout asked Harry.

"Yes, replied Harry matter of factly, "Susan told me that she and Hannah had left their compartment because a big fight was starting, and they didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. Susan asked if she and Hannah could join me and Amy and we said yes."

"When Miss Bones and Miss Abbott joined your compartment, Miss Bones noticed that your muggle clothes were way too big for you and that you were wearing broken glasses held together by a lot of scotch tape, " revealed Professor Sprout.

Feeling a bit more comfortable now, Harry informed Professor Sprout that, "All I have to wear are old clothes of Dudley's and Dudley is four times bigger than I am. As for the glasses, they are held together with scotch tape because of all the times Dudley punched me on the nose."

"Along those lines, " added Professor Sprout, "Miss Abbott told me that when you took off your shirt to change into your robes on the Hogwarts Express, she noticed several bruises and scars on your back, some of them clearly fairly new."

"My aunt hits me with her frying pan if my cooking isn't good enough and my uncle hits me with his belt when he's mad. Bear in mind that I am often punished for things I have no control over because my aunt and uncle are intolerant of my accidental magic."

"You aunt and uncle can be dealt with later, "said Professor Sprout firmly, "Getting your well being up to snuff is much more urgent."

"Along those lines, "piped up Madam Pomfrey, "I am going to be giving you some scar removal cream. As with the Nutrient Potion, I want you to apply scar removal cream to every scar on your body except for the lightning bolt scar on your forehead every night for two weeks. I will reevaluate that situation in two weeks as well. As for the glasses, you won't need them anymore after I've done a few procedures on your eyes so don't worry about getting them fixed."

"Until such time as we can get you better clothes, I give you permission to wear your school robes on weekends, " Professor Sprout told Harry.

"Thanks, everyone, "said Harry gently, "But if I may ask, Amy, Susan, Hannah, why were you three essentially studying me on the train. Don't misunderstand, I'm not mad at any of you. Your observations are going to help me out immensely. I'm just legitimately curious as to why you three were studying me."

"That's exactly what puts in perspective just how bad your situation is, Harry, " groaned Amy, "We weren't studying you at all. We made these observations without much effort."

"It was a bit of a shock to Hannah and me that you came to Hogwarts in a pitiful condition, "fretted Susan.

"How soon can Harry's eyes be fixed?" Hannah asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Right now, " said Madam Pomfrey, "I'm going to perform some wandless magic to correct Mr. Potter's vison. Now, Mr. Potter, you may feel a blowing sensation in your eyes as I perform these spells, but I promise you'll be able to see 20-20 without glasses after I'm done."

"Okay," replied Harry simply.

Madam Pomfrey raised her wand and made several different movements with it. Harry did feel what almost felt like wind in his eyes as Madam Pomfrey worked. But as Madam Pomfrey had promised, Harry could see 20-20 without glasses when she had finished.

"It worked just like you said it would, Madam Pomfrey, "said Harry happily, "I can see great without mu glasses now."

"Well, that's one less thing to worry about then, " said Professor Sprout Happily.

"OHHHHHHHHHH!" piped up Harry suddenly.

"What is it Harry?" chorused Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Let's hold off on looking into new clothes for me until we know what effect the Nutrient Potion has on me. I think once that runs its course it will be more appropriate to buy new clothes for me. It would suck to buy new clothes for me in the next few days only for the effects of the Nutrient Potion to cause me to outgrow them."

"Mr. Potter is EXACTLY RIGHT!" said Professor Sprout approvingly.

"I should have thought of that myself, " said Madam Pomfrey, "Let me get Mr. Potter his Nutrient Potion and scar removal cream and then he can go."

Madam Pomfrey opened a drawer that tubes of what must be scar removal cream.

These tubes came in red, green, yellow, blue, orange, purple, and hot pink.

"What color tube would you like Mr. Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey, "They all contain scar removal cream, which is white in color."

"Yellow, "said Harry instantly, "As I'm part of the Yellow Quartet."

"What is the Yellow Quartet?" asked Madam Pomfrey curious.

"It should be obvious, Poppy, " smirked Professor Sprout, "The Yellow Quartet is a friendship group consisting of Mr. Potter, Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott. Yellow for Hufflepuff and quartet for the fact there are four members of the group."

"Yes," smiled Harry, taking two tubes of scar removal cream from Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey smiled and opened a second drawer that contained several vials of an earthy green potion.

"Nutrient Potion?" asked Harry.

"Yes, " answered Madam Pomfrey as she handed him two vials.

"So, " observed Harry, "I guess a tube and a vial is a one week supply."

"Exactly, " said Madam Pomfrey, "You just need to rub a very small amount of cream on each scar each night. Remember to exclude your lightning bolt scar. There's nothing that can be done about that. As for the Nutrient Potion, three drops a day should do the trick. Overdosing on Nutrient Potion can lead to obesity, so I prefer the doses to be small and only once a day. Remember Mr. Potter, Nutrient Potion before dinner, scar removing cream before bed. I'll see you in two weeks."

"You four may go, "said Professor Sprout kindly, "And thirty points to Hufflepuff for Miss Alworth, Miss Bones, and Miss Abbott for showing genuine concern for a friend."

A bit later at breakfast, as Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were enjoying a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and Budweiser, Harry addressed his three friends.

"Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "said Harry sincerely, "I just want to thank you three for caring enough about me to take your concerns to Professor Sprout. I'm going to enjoy a great improvement in my quality of life because you three cared enough about me to look after me proactively. I want you to know that it's noticed, and it's appreciated."

"The Yellow Quartet!" said Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"The Yellow Quartet!" repeated Harry with a grin.


	5. The Yellow Quartet's First Class

After breakfast, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah made their way to the Charms classroom for the first scheduled class of their Hogwarts careers.

Harry and Amy both looked a little nervous as they entered the classroom and sat down at desk. This fore into magic was completely new to them after all.

As Susan and Hannah sat down at the desk across from Harry and Amy, Flitwick stood up and opened the class.

"Welcome to Charms, first year Hufflepuffs, "said Flitwick cheerfully, "You will find that Charms is a subject that requires strong willpower and concentration to succeed. As such, I feel it best to start you off with s simple spell. The Color Change Charm. Color Change Charms are mainly used for fun and entertainment, but they make an excellent introduction to the concepts used in Charms. So, you'll need the objects that you'll be practicing on."

Flitwick opened a drawer on his desk and retrieved four scarlet colored cubes. He then passed out one each to Harry, Amy, Susan, and finally Hannah before resuming his instruction.

"To change one object of a single color to another single color, point your wand at the object whose color you wish to change and say the name of the color you wish the object to take, plus the suffix -ify. I want you four to turn these cubes yellow. The catch is that, in order for the spell to work, you must a mental image in your head of the object in the desired color. Have a go!"

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all pointed their wands at their cubes and cried "Yellowify!"

Hannah's cube instantly turned completely yellow, but hers was the only one to do so. Susan and Amy now had cubes that were half scarlet and half yellow.

Harry's cube, however, was still stubbornly 100% scarlet.

"Well done, Miss Abbott, "said Flitwick approvingly, "Ten points to Hufflepuff. Miss Bones and Miss Alworth, you two had the right idea but weren't locked in enough. Mr. Potter, you clearly only said the incantation without the creating the proper mental image in your head.

Harry hung his head.

"Oh, keep your head up, Harry, " said Amy encouragingly, "With a bit of practice I'm sure you'll be able to get it."

Flitwick took the half scarlet half yellow cubes from Susan and Amy.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Bones, and Miss Alworth, try again, "said Flitwick simply.

Harry, Susan, and Amy pointed their wands at their cubes again and said, "Yellowify!"

This time, Susan and Amy mastered the spell, but Harry still hadn't put a dent in it.

"Come on, Harry, "said Hannah encouragingly, "We know you can do it."

"Third time's the Charm, "said Susan confidently.

'Harry, you WILL do it, "said Amy fiercely.

Feeling a bit bolstered by his friends encouragement and confidence in him, Harry pointed his wand at his cube a third time and said, "Yellowify!"

This time, Harry's cube turned 100% yellow, leading to a round of applause from Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"There's no reason that first years can't get Os in Charms if they put in the work," said Flitwick matter of factly, "And as you've all mastered today's spell, you may talk amongst yourselves for the rest of the class."

"What does Flitwick mean by Os in Charms?" asked Harry in a voice that oozed confusion.

"In the Hogwarts grading system, "explained Amy, "Os are the equivalent of as in the muggle world. Es are the equivalent of Bs, As are the equivalent of Cs, Ps are the equivalent of Ds, Ds are the equivalent of Fs. And in the Hogwarts grading system, there's an even lower grade of T. O stands for Outstanding. E stands for Exceeds Expectations, A stands for Acceptable, P stands for Poor, D stands for Dreadful, and T stands for Troll."

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked Amy skeptically, "I thought you were muggleborn?"

"McGonagall told me all about the Hogwarts grading system when explained to me that I was a witch, " replied Amy, "Were you not informed of this when McGonagall told you that you were a wizard?"

"First of all, it was Hagrid who told me I was a wizard, " answered Harry, "But maybe I wasn't told because it was assumed, I would know, seeing as my mom and dad were a witch and wizard."

"NO!" said Susan sharply, "Regardless of heritage, all students who are raised in muggle households are supposed to be given certain information when they are informed of the magical status."

"It is supposed be a teacher who gives this information, " added Hannah

"Oh no!" piped up Harry suddenly.

"What is it Harry?" asked Hannah.

"I am being manipulated, "said Harry fretfully, "Someone has obviously arranged for information to be withheld from me so he or she can have more dictation over my life, I don't who or why, but it seems clear that someone wants to use me."

Susan and Hannah exchanged looks.

"On a different subject, "inquired Amy, "Would you guys like us to do a study group? You know, where we all do our homework together?"

"Shouldn't we all be doing our own work so that we actually learn that material?" said Harry uncertainly, "I've always had the impression that study groups tend to lead to one dominant person doing all the work while the others benefit in grades but not in actually learning the subject matter."

"Certainly nothing can be gained from copying, " said Susan, who had clearly realized what Harry's concern was, "But if one of us understands something better than the others, we can help the others out through explanation."

"This does NOT mean that any of us ever actually does the work of the other, " explained Hannah, "But we can get our assignments and read off the questions and discuss them together. By discussing them, together, we can help each other out when one of us doesn't understand something."

"Exactly, " smiled Amy, "But we still write our own papers in the end."

"I'm open to giving it a shot," said Harry finally.

"Speaking of homework," interjected Flitwick, "Your first homework assignment, due by next Charms class, is to write s short essay on the Color Change Charm. Whichever one of you four gives me the best short essay on Color Change Charms will win a bottle of Jack Daniels as a prize."


	6. Observations and Conversations

After the Yellow Quartet left Charms, they headed off to Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

To the dismay of the Yellow Quartet, there was neither any academic learning nor any practical magic done in Quirrell's class.

Instead, Quirrell had spent the entire period telling stories about his travels.

"What a waste, "said Harry in a very disappointed voice as the Yellow Quartet headed to the Great Hall for lunch, "While Flitwick is clearly a highly qualified teacher, Quirrell is, well, a farce. I mean, what kind of teacher spends a whole class just telling his students about his own travels?" How on god's green earth did Quirrell ever get offered a position as a teacher in the first place."

"I couldn't agree more, " said Amy fiercely, "Our supposed Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't exactly do much teaching did he?"

"No, he didn't, " agreed Susan firmly, "Of all the subjects we learn at Hogwarts, Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of the worst to have an incompetent teacher in."

"We really should have been doing practical magic in Defense Against the Dark Arts, "observed Hannah, "Quirrell didn't even give us an academic lecture. He literally just wasted our time telling stories of his travels."

"I say, "said Amy, "That we give Quirrell one more chance, but if the same thing happens in our second Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, then we take our concerns about Quirrell's non teaching to Professor Sprout. She's already proven that she'll listen to us and take our concerns seriously."

"We're probably stuck with Quirrell for the year, "admitted Susan, "But if he really is a poor teacher and that gets around, maybe we get a more competent teacher for next year."

"That makes sense, "said Hannah matter of factly, "It's pretty well known what an important subject Defense Against the Dark Arts is."

"Even if we're stuck with Quirrell for seven years, maybe Sprout could suggest ways we could learn and study Defense Against the Dark Arts on our own if it came down to it, " suggested Harry.

"So, are we all agreed to give Quirrell only one more chance and inform Sprout of his non teaching if the same thing happens in our next lesson?" asked Amy.

"Yes, chorused Harry, Susan, and Hannah.

As the Yellow Quartet sat down at the Hufflepuff table to eat a lunch of ham and turkey sandwiches on wheat bread complete with lettuce, pickles, and mustard and Jim Beam to wash it down with, Harry turned to Amy, Susan, Hannah and asked, "Is there anything any of you absolutely want to make sure I know about?"

"Be very wary of Draco Malfoy, "warned Hannah, "His father, Lucius Malfoy, was a Death Eater."

"What is a Death Eater?" asked Harry.

"It's what Voldemort's old supporters called themselves, "explained Hannah, "And no one, and I mean no one, stops being a Death Eater. IF Voldemort ever rises again, Draco would be well positioned to join his father as a Death Eater. Either way, the Malfoys have historically been a Dark family with a love of both the Dark Arts and a huge belief in pureblood supremacy."

"Also, "said Susan importantly, "In the Wizarding World, you should NEVER give another person direct eye contact. Some witches and wizards have the skill of Legilimency. Legilimency at its core is the ability to read minds and sense emotions. A witch or wizard who successfully performs Legilimency on you will have access to your thoughts and feelings."

"That sounds creepy, "said Harry with a wince.

"And it's dangerous, "said Susan warningly, "Witches and wizards who have the ability to perform Legilimency can use this ability to manipulate other people. As eye contact is often in Legilimency, avoid giving it. Be especially careful if you ever realize that an untrustworthy person knows Legilimency."

Harry nodded.

"Is Legilimency legal?" asked Harry a nanosecond later.

"Yes, "said Susan uncomfortably, "And it's not even regulated!"

"I'll have to be on guard about that then, "replied Harry.

"Also, "added Hannah, "While flying broomsticks is an extremely fun hobby, I strongly recommend avoiding the sport known as Quidditch."

"Hagrid tried to tell me a bit about Quidditch, but I didn't understand it, "said Harry honestly.

"Well, McGonagall explained Quidditch to me as part of my introduction to the Wizarding World, "said Amy clearly, "And I most certainly will NOT be playing it. It sounds extremely violent and dangerous, especially for a sport. Apparently, one part of the game is that there are two balls whose sole purpose in the game is to try to knock players off their airborne brooms. No thanks. "

"Count me out too, if what I'm hearing is accurate, " said Harry clearly, "Flying on brooms does sound fun though."

"You're in luck, Harry, our first afternoon class today is Flying Lessons, " smiled Hannah.

"You should also be aware, " added Amy, "That certain witches and wizards have the ability to transform at will into animals. They are called animagi. While this is not a bad thing in and of itself, such a talent could be used for spywork. Tread carefully if you meet an unregistered animagus."

"Animagi have to register then?" asked Harry.

"Damn, "said Amy crossly, "I keep forgetting how inappropriately inadequate your introduction into the Wizarding World was. I tell you what, Harry, I'll let you borrow my list of registered animagi when an opportunity presents itself. Study it and familiarize yourself with who the registered animagi are."

Next nanosecond the bell rang, and the Yellow Quartet was off to their first flying lesson.


	7. A Matter of Ugrent Attention

The Yellow Quartet shared Flying Lessons with Ravenclaw, a house whose students in their year included Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, Hermione Granger, and Padma Patil.

When the Yellow Quartet arrived on the sloping lawns, they heard Hermione seemingly trying to explain how to fly to other Ravenclaws. who all looked exasperated.

"To get lift, kick off from the ground hard, "said Hermione rapidly, "To come back down, lean forward-

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, had just arrived and she didn't look happy.

"Miss Granger, I am the teacher of this class, "said Madam Hooch firmly, "Ten points from Ravenclaw for overstepping your bounds."

An observant Harry noticed that none of the other Ravenclaws seemed upset about losing points.

Harry suspected that the other Ravenclaws did not like Hermione and actually liked seeing her "put in her place."

"That's better, "said Madam Hooch when Hermione fell silent, "Now everyone stick your right hand over the broom and say up."

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Harry's broom jumped into his hands at once, but it was the only one that did.

Hermione's hadn't moved at all and everyone else's had simply rolled over on the ground.

"You've got to say it with feeling. You've got to WANT to get your broom," explained Madam Hooch.

"UP!" everyone but Harry shouted a second time.

This time, Hannah's broom jumped into her hands. To Harry's surprise, Hannah frowned when her broom hit her hands.

After a few more tries, everyone had his or her broom in his or her hands. S

"Now that you've all got your brooms, I can start training you how to fly,' said Madam Hooch.

"NO!" shouted Hannah, "These brooms are NOT safe. I will NOT fly on these brooms and I will NOT allow Harry, Amy, or Susan to do so either."

"What's wrong with them?" Harry asked Hannah.

""I can feel the broom vibrating in my hands, "said Hannah fretfully, "That's the sign of an old and used and/or low quality broom. Flying on substandard quality brooms is extremely dangerous. Low quality brooms are very likely to buck off their riders and are also much harder to keep a grip on into the bargain. These brooms must be very old."

"Quite, "said Madam Hooch matter of factly, "Your parents flew these brooms."

Hannah screamed.

"Broomsticks that are used for flying are supposed to be replaced at least every five years. If they see frequent use, then it is recommended that they be replaced at least once every three years, " said Hannah in a loud, clear, and forceful voice.

"I know it's not ideal, "admitted Madam Hooch, "But sometimes you have to make do with what you've got."

"There's a big difference between making do with merely older or less desirable products and using unsafe products, "said Hannah firmly.

"Hogwarts budget is not sufficient to replace the school brooms, " said Madam Hooch matter of factly.

"Then I'll write to mom and explain the situation to her. The Abbotts are a very old wizarding family that has accumulated an almost implausible amount of wealth over the centuries. Mom would be only too happy to provide the needed funds to replace the school brooms. Mom wouldn't want us flying these nasty things in front of us. If she were here right now, she'd tell us point blank not to fly them."

Madam Hooch saw the sincerity in Hannah's eyes and heard the sincerity in her voice.

"Very well, Miss Abbott, " said Madam Hooch, "Consider flying lessons temporarily suspended. Contact your mom and see what she says."


	8. Suspicions and Uncomfortable Help

Later that night at dinner, Harry took his first dose of Nutrient Potion.

Amy, Susan, and Hannah were pleased that Harry had remembered his potion on his own and didn't need reminding.

The Yellow Quartet enjoyed a declivous dinner of spicy chicken sandwiches with lettuce and pickles, onion rings, and Michelob. While they were eating, Harry spoke up.

"I- I think I may some help with my cream tonight, " said Harry nervously, "Some of the scars, especially some of the scars on my back, will be hard for me to reach."

"Hey, Harry, I would like to volunteer to put your cream on for you. I'll do the whole job for you and you won't have to worry about it, " offered Amy.

Harry was reminded of the moment that Amy had helped him with his trunk when he had first met her.

"Thank you, Amy, " said Harry, sounding sincere but looking uncomfortable Harry looked.

"Are you okay, Harry?" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah when they noticed how uncomfortable.

"I'm in a catch twenty two, " admitted Harry, "I'm not at all comfortable with other people physically touching me, but there's no way I could put my cream on all of the needed spots without the help."

Comprehension dawned on the faces of Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Any kind of physical touching and you'll be half expecting the whack of your aunt's frying pack or the smack of your uncle's belt. "said Amy darkly.

"Yes, " said Harry fretfully, "I feel anything on me physically and I'll just naturally expect something like that."

"It may take a while for you to overcome that, " warned Susan, "I've heard of cases abused children. Sometimes the phycological damage is worse than the physical damage."

"We won't be judgmental of you over those feelings, Harry, " promised Hannah, "It's not your fault you grew up in an abusive household."

"It's Uncle Vernon's fault, " said Harry clearly, "I just can't truly trust anyone with situations that require physical touching. I-

"We understand, Harry, "said Amy gently, "And we sympathize with your plight. It does suck that you are in this catch twenty two, but I hope as the days go by you can learn to trust me more and be more comfortable with me."

"I want to be fair to you, "Harry told Amy, "But I associate physical touching with abuse so it's going to be hard."

"I'll be as patient as you need me to be, "promised Amy reassuringly.

"On another note, "said Harry seriously, "I couldn't help but notice today that more than a few students, students of both genders, various ages, and all four houses, seemed to be eyeing the third floor corridor as they passed it."

"You know, " said Susan thoughtfully, "Announcing that there was a dangerous corridor in the school was almost like an invitation to check it out. You know about both the rebellious side and the curiosity of children and teenagers."

"Maybe someone WANTS students to check out the third floor corridor, " suggested Hannah.

"It's obvious to me, " said Harry slowly, "That someone is manipulating me. That's clear from the way I was brought into the Wizarding World. What if someone wants me specifically, to check out the third floor corridor."

"That's very likely, "said Amy, "You should stay away from that corridor unless it's absolutely necessary to go there.'

"I agree with that," replied Harry. "But it feels like something I need to think out more. Like there's something I need to figure out that I haven't yet. That said, I'm not messing with things that aren't my business."

After the chicken, onion rings, and Michelob were gone, the Yellow quartet enjoyed a dessert of lemon jello.

Later that night, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all went into Harry's room.

As she had promised, Amy applied Harry's Scar Removal Cream for him.

At first Harry was very fidgety and would gasp if Amy's applications were too sudden. Amy actually had to repeat a couple of spots because of Harry's jumpiness. But as the process wore on, Harry calmed down and Amy was able to work efferently. Amy was very patient with Harry throughout all of this.

"There's day one done, "said Amy matter of factly when she had finished.

"Thank you, Amy, "said Harry gratefully, "I felt I little calmer by the end but I'm still really uneasy about the physical touching. Hopefully I can make some progress towards becoming more comfortable with it in the next few weeks."

"It's too bad there isn't a Scar Removal Potion, " lamented Hannah.

"Or pill to get of scars, " added Susan.

"The one alavailble method of curing scars is the one Harry isn't suited too, "finished Amy sympathetically.

"Amy, you did a really good job, "said Harry encouragingly, Amy, Susan, Hannah, as a show of appreciation for everything you've done for me, I'd like to sing you three a song."

Amy, Susan, and Hannah all doubted Harry could actually sing but said, "Go ahead."

"Amy, Susan, Hannah, this is for you," smiled Harry and he sang.

"Ohhhh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh.

It must have been cold there in my shadow,  
To never have sunlight on your face.  
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.  
You always walked a step behind.

So, I was the one with all the glory,  
While you were the one with all the strength.  
A beautiful face without a name for so long.  
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero,  
And everything I would like to be?  
I can fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,  
But I've got it all here in my heart.  
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.  
I would be nothing without you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?  
You're everything I wish I could be.  
I could fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?  
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.  
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings,  
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.  
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.  
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,  
So high I almost touch the sky.  
Thank you, thank you,  
Thank you for you, the wind beneath my wings."

Amy, Susan, and Hannah felt their insides glowing as they listened to Harry's song. They could feel within themselves how much Harry truly appreciated their friendship.

"You know something?" said Harry, "There's a difference between a buddy and a friend and you three truly are friends."

Amy, Susan, and Hannah just smiled.

"The Yellow Quartet!" the four all chorused a nanosecond later.


	9. A HUGE Change in Plans

The next morning, Harry felt someone grab him in his bed. A nanosecond later, Harry felt as though he had been sucked down a large rubber tube.

Harry felt someone let go of him and looked around.

Harry saw he was in a large manor and looked up to see a woman with blonde hair and pigtails who looked very much like an adult Hannah.

"Good morning, Harry, "said the woman kindly, "My name is Heather Abbott."

"Abbott?" mused Harry.

"Very good, Harry, " smiled Heather, "Yes, as you have deduced, I am Hannah's mother."

"It's nice to meet, you, Madam Abbott, "said Harry warmly.

"Please, call me Heather, "requested Heather, "Madam Abbott makes me feel old."

"Very well, Heather, " replied Harry, "But why I am here?"

"You have been pulled from Hogwarts. Whether this pulling is temporary or permanent remains to be seen, " explained Heather, "For now, at least, Abbott Manor will be your home and you will be home schooled."

"How did this come about?" Harry asked Heather.

"Last night my daughter sent me an owl expressing her concern that Hogwarts learning brooms were unsafe. In response, I sent her an owl grilling her on what Hogwarts was like overall. After receiving her response, I contacted Professor Sprout and Susan's guardian, her Aunt Amelia Bones. We made a joint decision that you, Amy, Susan, and Hannah will be pulled from Hogwarts, at least for this year. Whether the move is permanent remains to be seen."

"Why are we being pulled from Hogwarts?" inquired Harry, "What factors were considered?"

"Incompetent teachers, inadequate curriculum, bullies allowed to run wild unpunished, danger, and suspicions of a manipulative headmaster, " answered Heather.

"I saw evidence of those things, " admitted Harry, "Hogwarts doesn't seem like a great school."

"It isn't, " said Heather, "Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout are highly qualified teachers but Binns and Quirrell are NOT qualified in any way to teach their subjects and Snape focuses more on bullying non Slytherin students than on teaching. Some of the dangers are obvious, and the headmaster can't be trusted."

"So, should I expect then?" asked Harry.

"You, Amy, Susan, and Hannah will live here Abbott Manor during the school year. I will be homeschooling you. My plan on how to go about this has been approved by Professor Sprout, " explained Heather, "I'm not a big believer in books as I believe in learning by doing. You will receive practical training in Flying, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical creatures. You will also receive some lecturing in History of Magic and Magical Politics."

"Have I, Amy, Susan, and Hannah been officially withdrawn from Hogwarts?" inquired Harry.

"No, "said Heather clearly, Dumbledore must NOT know about your removal or where you are. So, we had to go undercover a bit, " answered Heather.

"I have a couple of concerns- " began but Heather forestalled him here.

"Harry, I am aware of your need for Nutrient Potions and Scar Removal Cream, " said Heather in understanding, "They are in your room, along with your other possessions, which I brought over here before I collected you. Arrangements have been made for Madam Pomfrey to visit at the two week interval you already know about to look over your progress. Now, let me show you to your room"

Heather pointed Harry towards the right. One by one they passed rooms with nametags on them. From the left to right, the rooms belonged to Heather, Hannah, Susan, Amy, and Harry.

Harry entered his room to see a bed and pillow with bright yellow bedsheets and pillowcase with walls of a similar color. Harry's trunk. wand, owl, clothes, books, and medical supplies had all been brought up.

"You may arrange your room or decorate your room however you choose, Harry, as long as you keep it free of sex and swearing, " promised Heather.

"Thanks, Heather," smiled Harry.

"BOO!" cried three voices at once, and Harry gave a startled gasp.

"We got you good!" grinned Amy, Susan, and Hannah with grins.

"I'll get you back, " laughed Harry.

"Why don't you all come down to breakfast," said Heather, and Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah followed her to the dining room.

A house elf was setting out plates and silverware for five places at a long brown table with multiple brown chairs under it.

"Almost done, Master Abbott," said the house elf.

"Very well, Topsy, " said Heather, "Everyone sit down. The places are the same so there is no need to fight over them."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all pulled out chairs and sat down.

A few minutes later, Topsy returned with five meals of French toast, bacon strips, and Miller Lite.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather enjoyed their breakfast and when it was over Heather said, "To business."


	10. Questions and Answers

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather all remained seated as Heather spoke in a crisp clear voice.

"The most important thing I must tell you all right away, "said Heather firmly. "Is that lot you are going to be kept away from Dumbledore at all costs. Obviously. that means you will never return to Hogwarts whilst Dumbledore is still there. But we also must keep Dumbledore from finding you here. That's especially true for you Harry. Along those lines, I am the Secret Keeper for Abbott Manor."

"What is a Secret Keeper?" Harry asked Heather.

"It's a very complex piece of magic and I will not be teaching you the details until you are older, " explained Heather, "But the long and the short of it is that a Secret Keeper is a protector of a person or building. If a person or building has a Secret Keeper, it is impossible for people to find that person or building expect for those people to whom the Secret Keeper has divulged the location."

"So how many people currently know the location of Abbott Manor?" asked Harry

"Eight, "answered Heather instantly, "The five of us that are here, plus Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, and Amelia Bones. That's it and that's going to stay it."

"Does that mean we never leave this building?" asked Amy.

"In some cases, it may be necessary to do so, "replied Heather, "But in such cases I AND Amelia will escort you where we are going, especially if we suspect it's to a place Dumbledore might expect to run into Harry."

"That makes sense, "said Harry simply.

"Now, " said Heather, "Before we start on a lesson, do any of you have any questions for me?"

"I understand that low quality teachers, particularly Quirrell and Snape, was one of the reasons we were withdrawn from Hogwarts. But what is your honest opinion, if you have one, of the Hogwarts Heads of House?" inquired Harry.

"Flitwick and Sprout are just about perfect for the role, " responded Heather, "While bully Snape has no business being in such a role. McGonagall is trickier. While McGonagall is a superb Transfiguration teacher, I don't believe she should be a Head of House."

"We never interacted with her in our brief time at Hogwarts, " piped up Harry, "Why don't you think McGonagall should be a Head of House?"

"She's too stiff and stubborn. She won't listen to her students concerns when they voice them to her, she doesn't look after her students or intervene on their behalf when she should, and she also will play favorites at times if she happens to really like a particular student."

"Looking after the students in his or her house and listening to their concerns should be the number one priority for a Head of House. I, Amy, Susan, and Hannah know firsthand that Sprout does that and we are confident Flitwick would if needed, " said Harry matter of factly.

"Exactly, " said Heather, "McGonagall is also loyal to Dumbledore, which is another negative. Snape is far worse though. He was a Death Eater.'

"WHAT!" screamed Harry, "I, Amy, Susan, and Hannah never got to our first class with him, though we heard it through the grapevine that he is a bully, but, NO ONE WHO EVER WORKED FOR VOLDEMORT SHOULD EVER BE SUITED FOR A TEACHING POST! "

"Completely corrected, " agreed Hannah at once, "Someone with Snape's past shouldn't be anywhere near children. And don't forget what I told you yesterday about once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater."

"In addition to Dumbledore, Snape is another big reason Amelia and I wanted our daughter and niece out of Hogwarts, " said Heather firmly.

"How did Harry and I fit in then?" asked Amy.

"Neither of you has a magical guardian, "explained Heather, "So your position in the magical world is somewhat loose. It was Amelia's and my decision to include you and Harry. Harry must be kept away from Dumbledore and this way the Yellow Quartet can stay together."

'I need to ask, " said Amy, "What are the house rules here?'

"I'm a pretty permissive guardian, " smiled Heather, "But I do have one very major no-no. Under NO circumstances are romance, sex, or sexuality to have ANY place in this house. if I should find in any of your rooms, posters, magazines, etc., that depict romance, sex, or sexuality or should I hear any of you talking about such disgusting things, you can expect VERY severe punishment. Romance, sex, and sexuality are the worst vices of humans and those will NEVER be tolerated here. Other than that, no really major house rules."

"If may ask?" interjected Susan, "What kind of teacher will you be? I know I've you all my life, but not as a teacher. I know you said you believe in practical learning over book learning. But what about your teaching style."

"I believe in mastering things, "answered Heather a nanosecond later, "I believe in doing things until you can do them completely right. Not just "getting the hang of it" but actually being able to completely do it.

"Even if we have to go through nine hundred octillion repetitions?" asked Susan.

"Absolutely, "said Heather fiercely, "If you need do something, you'll need to know how to actually do it. Not just have feel for it or understand how to do it, but how to actually truly do it. We have plenty of time here to master what needs to be mastered. Practice makes perfect, so you will continue to practice important things regularly even after you master them."

"That makes sense, "said Hannah, "And by the way, before anyone asks, mom is NOT a yeller. So, you don't have to worry about that."

"Yelling is a terrible form of instruction, "said Heather briskly. "Because if you yell at people while you are trying to teach them, they will be paying attention to your yelling instead of what you are trying to teach them. That said, you should be aware that under my teaching style, you will receive criticism than compliments. As we go along, I will focus on what you did wrong rather than what you did right until you've mastered the task completely."

"That makes sense because how will learn otherwise?' piped up Harry.

"Exactly, Mr. Potter." beamed Heather, "So I thought we'd start our lesson with...….


	11. Boggart Lesson

"Boggarts, " said Heather, "Now, can any of you tell me what a boggart is?"

"A Boggart is a shape shifter, "said Amy instantly, "It can take the shape of whatever a person fears the most."

"Correct, "smiled Heather, "And why might fighting boggarts be easier if you have company?"

"Because, " answered Amy eagerly, "If there are multiple people facing a boggart it won't know what shape it's supposed to take."

"Very good, " said Heather brightly, "And what finishes off a boggart?"

"Laughter, " replied Amy a nanosecond later, "To finish a boggart, you must force it assume a form that is truly funny, while saying the incantation "Riddikulus!"

"Excellent!" beamed Heather, "And now we are going to practice fighting boggarts."

But Harry's hand had suddenly shot into the air.

"Yes, Harry?" asked Heather.

"May I speak with Amy one on one for a minute?" I don't care if we're overheard. I just want to talk to her one on one without the possibility of being interrupted."

"You can do so right here, Harry, " said Heather briskly.

"Amy, " said Harry clearly, "There are a couple of things wrong with how you just handled the start of this lesson."

Heather smiled at Harry. Though she had kept a pleasant expression, Heather herself had been bothered by a couple of traits Amy had just showed. If Harry was about to tell Amy what Heather thought he was, it would teach Amy a valuable lesson.

"Amy, "said Harry clearly, "You shouldn't seek to answer every single question in a class. First, you didn't even give Heather a chance to call on any of us. As the teacher of all of us, Heather needs to know that we all understand what's going on, not just you."

After a minute and a nanosecond of silence, Amy said slowly, "That makes sense."

"The other problem with that, " explained Harry to Amy, "Is that it's very off putting to the other students in a class if one student is answering all the questions. Whether you mean it to be or not, it's showing off and no one likes a showoff. Others will resent you if they think you have an attitude of being a know it all. Look, Amy we're all your friends here and our class size is low. But I just feel like it's for the best, including for your best, if this behavior is nipped in the bud."

A few minutes and a few nanoseconds followed this proclamation and Amy looked a little uncomfortable.

"Amy, " said Harry reassuringly, "I'm not trying to insult you. I'm trying to help by helping you to understand why the way the responded to the start of our lesson was wrong."

Slowly understanding that Harry was right and seeing the sincerity on face, Amy said, "Harry, thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. I promise it won't happen again. From now on, I'll wait until Heather calls on me to answer a question."

"Thanks, " Harry, " said Heather firmly, "That was an issue that needed to be addressed right away so thank you for doing so."

"No problem, Heather, "said Harry simply.

Heather now raised her wand and did a nonverbal spell and they heard a rattling as the boggart entered the room.

It shot straight at Harry and took the form of a belt.

"Your worst fear is the fear of a belt?" said Heather skeptically.

"Heather, "said Hannah seriously, "Remember that Harry has been physically abused throughout his life and that that abuse often came in the form of being hit with his uncle's belt."

"And, "added Susan, "That physical abuse was also quite frequent."

"It's a very reasonable boggart for Harry, " agreed Amy, "He struggles with any kind of physical touching because of how badly abused he was."

Heather nodded, realizing that Amy, Susan, and Hannah were right.

Harry raised his wand at the boggart and cried "Riddikulus."

The belt in the boggart started snapping itself in half of its accord and repairing itself.

The effect was mildly funny, and they all let out a few giggles.

The boggart wasn't close to finished, but it was confused, and it now stepped in front of Heather.

As soon as the boggart saw Heather, it assumed a form where it showed Hannah about as she now was standing beside a dead Heather. Heather immediately had a flow of involuntarily tears.

"My w-worst f-fear, "sobbed Heather, "Is that I will die while Hannah is still young and that I won't able to see her grow up. I was personally affected by the war against Voldemort when Hannah was a baby and ever since then this has been my boggart, with Hannah always appearing at her current age.'

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah all looked on feeling a bit helpless until Hannah suddenly went to room and. returned with a slab of chocolate and a bottle of Corona Extra.

Heather and Susan recognized the specific smell right away although Harry and Amy didn't.

"That's Honeydukes chocolate, " said Heather weakly.

"It's actually the very last piece from the box Susan gave me for my birthday, "said Hannah, "And the bottle of Corona Extra is the last from the six pack you gave me for my birthday. As you need cheering up right now, I'm giving offering to you."

"Thank you, Hannah, "said Heather gratefully as she accepted the chocolate and Corona Extra from Hannah and slowly consumed them.

Heather did feel better after she was done, and her tears subsided. But she was also looking at the boggart looking and feeling both uncomfortable and uncertain.

Fortunately, Susan stepped in front of the boggart thus saving Heather from having to deal with it.

This was of great relief to Heather, who always felt guilty about giving her boggart a funny form when she had to do it.

"There's no way of making that scene funny, "said Susan firmly, "Therefore, I will face it instead."

Susan's boggart turned out to show her by herself in room while Hannah was standing at the other end of the room looking determinedly away from her.

"My worst fear, " explained Susan, "is the fear of being estranged from Hannah."

"Is it the fear of loneliness?" asked Amy.

"No, "said Susan clearly, "It's absolutely the fear of being estranged from Hannah. Unless you've had a close BFF since you were a baby, it would be hard to understand."

"Have you and Hannah ever had a falling out?" Harry asked Susan.

"No, " said Susan brightly, "And hopefully it stays that way."

Susan raised her wand at the boggart and cried "Riddikulus."

The Hannah in the boggart now made a complete fool of herself by attempting a series of gymnastics that she was completely incapable of while the Susan in the boggart laughed her ass off.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah and Heather all laughed extremely hard, but no one was laughing harder than the real Hannah.

Next nanosecond, there was a huge crack and the boggart was gone.

"Brilliant, " said Heather happily, "Great job Susan, and great sense of humor, Hannah, to laugh along with it. Though, as we have hard floors in the entire house, please don't attempt those gymnastics in real life."

"I won't, mom, " promised Hannah.

"Before we continue, " said Heather seriously, "Harry, I would like to apologize for the insensitivity I displayed towards you in questioning your boggart form."

"No problem, Heather, " said Harry in understanding, "A belt probably isn't a form you'd normally expect a person's boggart to take."

"But with your past, it's quite reasonable. More importantly, a boggart form is personal to each individual and it was really rude of me to question it, " finished Heather.

"No hard feelings, nobody's perfect, " said Harry in acceptance.

Heather raised her wand as she had before and did another nonverbal spell, thus summoning a second boggart.

This boggart darted towards Hannah

Hannah's boggart was the same as Susan's. Hannah's boggart showed her by herself in room while Susan was standing at the other end of the room looking determinedly away from her.

"You two really are super tight, " said Harry approvingly.

"We are, " said Hannah proudly, "Our boggarts taking the same form is another sign of that. That said, I know better than to try to repeat the way Susan attacked it. Nothing is as funny when you see it the second time as when you see it the first time."

Hannah raised her wand at the boggart and cried "Riddikulus!"

The Susan in the boggart suddenly had all sorts of things falling on her. At first it was just things like glitter and confetti. Then it expanded to include things like mustard and ketchup.

The effect was reasonably funny, and they all let out some laughter.

The boggart got confused and rounded on Amy.

Amy's boggart assumed the form of a bolt of lightning.

"My worst fear, " explained Amy is that I or a place I live will be struck by lightning, leaving me dead or homeless. I grew up in Arizona, where we have monsoon storms every summer. Every summer when the first big storm to come near where I live would occur, I would be terrified out of my wits that either I would get hit and snuff it or that my house would get hit and I'd be left homeless. This fear took root in my when I was just a preschooler."

"That's a completely plausible boggart and I'm not surprised that someone would have something relating to weather or storms as part of his or her boggart, " said Harry, "Amy I assume there are no schools for witches and wizards in Arizona then?"

"No, " answered Amy, "That's why I was selected for Hogwarts. I'm glad to be learning with Heather instead though. Now."

Amy raised her wand at the boggart and cried "Riddikulus!"

The lightning in the boggart, which had been strictly purple, now featured all the colors of the rainbow. The lightning rose a bit, then split into pieces that exploded like fireworks. Some of the lightning fireworks went off like regular fireworks whole others took the shapes of dogs, cats, birds, and horses before doing their thing.

The effect was entertaining but not funny. There was some applause and there some smiles, but the actual effect on the bogart was minimal.

Next nanosecond, somehow, someway, perhaps intuitively, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather all squeezed tightly together to give the boggart multiple targets.

The boggart rattled and rattled but didn't seem to take any form. It was clearly confused.

"I'm going to finish it by forcing myself to think of funny things, bringing myself to laugh, " said Heather finally, and she did.

"Now, " said Heather matter of factly, "Time for your grades. You all passed. Amy, you receive a grade of A. You were right on the A/P border. You made your boggart exciting rather than funny. However, as you clearly understand how boggarts work, and as I do think you made a worthy attempt, I'm willing to give you a pass grade here. Be warned that next time we do boggarts you will receive of no better than P if you don't improve to actually making your boggart funny. But, for a first try, I'll give you an A."

"I'm sorry I didn't do better, " said Amy dejectedly with her head lowering into her hands.

Harry grabbed Amy's head out of her hands and forced it upwards.

"Keep your head up, Amy, " said Harry encouragingly, "It really wasn't that bad for a first try. You just need to give some thought on how to make your boggart truly funny and you'll do better next time."

Amy gave Harry a small smile. Harry's encouragement did make her feel a bit better.

"You, Harry, " said Heather, "Receive a grade of E and so does Hannah. Harry and Hannah, you both made your boggarts funny enough to produce some laughter."

Harry and Hannah nodded as they both felt E was the grade they had earned.

"Susan was clearly the best as she produced a boggart that was funny enough for us to vanquish it. Susan receives a grade of O."

"I was happy with how I performed, " said Susan brightly.

"You did great, Susan, " smiled Heather, "But now it's onto our next lesson."


	12. Dumbledore Duped

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore noticed at lunchtime that Harry was missing from the Hufflepuff table.

This made Dumbledore feel uneasy. If anyone had kidnapped Harry and offered him a permeant home, then the blood wards at Privet Drove would fail and he wouldn't be able to mold and control the boy the way wanted to.

Dumbledore also noticed that Amy, Susan, and Hannah were missing as well. Dumbledore hadn't liked seeing Harry being friendly with Susan, as he knew Susan's Aunt Amelia, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was a threat to interfere if she found out about anything amiss or unusual.

The matter of most urgent attention was to make sure the blood wards were still active, therefore, after lunch, Dumbledore trotted up to his office and examined a few of his silver instruments. To Dumbledore's relief, his tools showed him that the blood wards were still active and that no attempts had been made to interfere with them.

Perhaps Harry and his friends had to skip lunch to catch up on some homework. Maybe they'd arranged a private friends only lunch for the day. Whatever the reason for Harry and his friends not being at lunch, it didn't seem like anything was actually up.

But Dumbledore's relief was short lived when he saw Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah weren't at dinner either.

Strongly suspecting the interference of Amelia Bones, Dumbledore apparated to Bones Manor that evening.

Having heard the crack when Dumbledore had entered her home, Amelia Bones raced down to the living room that Dumbledore had apparated into and when she saw who it was she calmly asked "Why are you here Albus?"

"Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were not at lunch or dinner today. They seem to have left Hogwarts. I know you would been the one to pull them.'

"I have no idea what you're talking about, " lied Amelia.

"No one else would have removed them, " insisted Dumbledore, "Harry's parents are dead, Amy grew up in an orphanage as her parents abandoned her at birth because she is an albino, Hannah's father died in war not too long before Harry's parents. As for Hannah's mother, she is alive and I think a big part of Hannah's life. But Heather Abbott is such a hands off woman that she wouldn't intervene no matter what she thought or heard about anything regarding Hogwarts. And Susan's parents died in the war as well. You are the only important adult in Susan's life So it must have been you."

Amelia inwardly smiled. Their bluff was working. Heather had historically been a hands off woman and that's EXACTLY why they'd arranged for Heather rather than Amelia to house and teach the children. They knew Dumbledore would suspect Amelia if the kids disappeared from Hogwarts but that he wouldn't even consider the possibility of Heather being involved.

"I'm going to search every room in this manor for Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, " declared Dumbledore and he went off and searched the house without even waiting for a response.

While Dumbledore was searching the house, an owl swooped in, dropped a letter into Amelia's hands, and swopped out again.

Amelia had just finished reading the letter when Dumbledore arrived back in the living room.

"Well, they really appear not to be here, " conceded Dumbledore.

"This letter just arrived, " Amelia said seriously, handing Dumbledore the letter.

"Dear Madam Bones, this morning we received a concerning letter from our daughters about an issue at Hogwarts. We have photocopied said letter and the copy appears below. - Patrick and Patricia Patil.

The photocopied letter read:

"Dear mom and dad:

During the Welcoming Feast, Professor Dumbledore made a strange announcement. Dumbledore proclaimed that "The third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to eveyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. We have two concerns about this. First, if there really is a danger at Hogwarts that Dumbledore knows about, why didn't he remove the danger instead of just telling people to stay away from it, Hogwarts is a school of children and teens after all. Secondly, given the natural curiosity of kids, announcing to a large group of children and teens that a dangerous corridor existed in their school almost feels like an invitation to the kids to go check said corridor out. We have a sinking feeling that Dumbledore is up to something and we felt that you two, as members of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, should be informed.

\- your loyal and loving daughters-

Parvati and Padma."

"The issue of the third floor corridor, " explained Dumbledore, "Is a matter between Nicolas Flamel and myself. I had to make that announcement so that Hogwarts pupils would be aware of the danger."

"I understand, " said Amelia calmly, "You see now I am not guilty of interference."

"I do, " accepted Dumbledore, "And therefore I will return to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore disapparated.

Less than a minute later, Amelia grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into her fireplace.

"Flamel Manor!" cried out Amelia in a crisp clear voice.


	13. Reclaiming

A nanosecond later, Amelia found herself in Flamel Manor.

She let herself into the living room where Nicolas Flamel was sitting on a white Ashley furniture sofa and sipping from a can of Bud Light.

As he heard Amelia's footsteps, Nicolas looked up.

"Who are you?" Nicolas asked Amelia.

"My name is Amelia Bones, " explained Amelia, "You aren't in any trouble, but I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I need to ask: what do you know about the third floor corridor at Hogwarts?"

"Nothing, " answered Nicolas in a confused voice.

"That's what I was afraid of, " said Amelia seriously, "Dumbledore told me a minute ago that an issue surrounding the third floor corridor at Hogwarts was between you and him."

"I know what's up, " said Nicolas urgently, "You see, I have a Sorcerer's Stone. That's how I've been able to live so long, 665 as of now. I'd been storing the stone in a vault at Gringotts and taking it out when I needed to drink more elixir to extend my life. Albus warned me that the Sorcerer's Stone was at risk of being stolen and advised me to have it moved from Gringotts. There was in fact an attempted robbery of the vault I had kept the stone a few hours after the stone was moved from the vault. But Albus promised he would keep my Sorcerer's Stone safe. "

"Well, " replied Amelia, "I have reason to believe Dumbledore is manipulating the life of Harry Potter. While Dumbledore was at my house, I received an owl from Patrick and Patricia Patil, the parents of Hogwarts students Parvati and Padma Patil, about an owl they received from their daughters. The long and the short of it is that Dumbledore told the students during the welcoming feast that "The third floor corridor on the right side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

"If I had heard an announcement like that when I was a Hogwarts student, the FIRST thing I'd have done would've been to go check out that corridor, " admitted Nicolas.

"Exactly, " said Amelia, "We know about the rebellious and curious sides of kids. It is my belief that Dumbledore is trying to manipulate the life of harry Potter."

"You believe Albus has set up what he hopes is in essence a test for Harry?" asked Nicolas slowly.

"That is my view, " said Amelia matter of factly, "I believe Albus has set up a series of obstacles guarding the Sorcerer's Stone in an attempt to test Harry. I did not know any Sorcerer's Stones actually existed until what you told me just now, but the clues are starting to fit."

"Do you believe Harry will go after the stone?" Nicolas asked Amelia.

"Harry isn't at Hogwarts anymore, " said Amelia proudly, "Owing to concerns about incompetent teachers, inadequate curriculum,, bullies allowed to run wild unpunished, danger, and our views on what Dumbledore may be up to, my friend Heather Abbott and I have pulled my niece Susan, her daughter Hannah, as well two close friends of Susan and Hannah, Harry, and a muggleborn named Amy Alworth from Hogwarts. Heather is housing and teaching them. We knew that if the kids were pulled from Hogwarts that Dumbledore would suspect me and not her. That's why Dumbledore visited me. When I showed the Patils letter, he just told me that the third floor corridor at Hogwarts was between you and him."

"But, " said Nicolas as an uncomfortable truth dawned on him, "Harry Potter just started Hogwarts this year. If Albus wanted to set up a challenge for Harry. the obstacles would have to be ones that eleven year olds could overcome, yet some still may be dangerous. Every student still at Hogwarts is in danger. Amelia, would you be willing to escort me to Hogwarts? I know the stone can't go back to Gringotts, but I'm going to take it back and look after it myself. My friendship with Albus is history. From this nanosecond forward, I will no longer call Dumbledore by his first name. He doesn't deserve that kind of respect.

"Why don't you finish your Bud Light and then I can set up the empty can as a portkey?" suggested Amelia.

After Nicolas had finished the last sip of Bud Light, Amelia pointed her wand at the empty can and cried "Portus!" Nicolas and Amelia then each placed a hand on the portkey and were off to Hogwarts.

When Nicolas and Amelia found the third floor corridor locked, Amelia pointed her wand the door and cried "Alohomora!" and the door opened.

Nicolas and Amelia then found themselves facing a huge blue dog with three heads.

"A Cerberus, " observed Nicolas, "We've got to sing it to sleep."

Nicolas then sang the first few lines of The Yellow Rose of Texas and the dog was soon asleep.

"So, let me get this straight, " said Amelia in a disgusted voice, "All anyone had to do was use the first year unlocking spell that students learn early in their first year and then they found themselves face to face with a Cerberus?"

"I know, right?" said Nicolas shakily, "That monster could have killed any student at any time. Fuck Dumbledore."

Nicolas and Amelia saw that the Cerberus was standing on a trap door and they moved it's paws.

"Before we go, " sad Amelia, "I'm going to stun that dog in case any student comes across it. That way it won't wake up until it's unstunned. "

And Amelia stunned the dog before going through the trap door with Nicolas.

As they expected, Nicolas and Amelia found themselves obstacles that were all too overcomeable: Devil's Snare that could be killed with a simple "Lumos" charm, a key that could easily be summoned or caught, a troll that was all too easy to knock out, and a chess game that could be beaten by any competent player.

However, the final obstacle they found was that the stone was buried inside a mirror. Nicolas looked in the mirror and felt clueless as to how to get the stone out. But when Amelia stepped in front of the mirror the stone deposited itself into her right hand pocket.

"OOH!" said Nicolas suddenly, "Dumbledore bewitched the mirror so that only a person who wanted to find the stone but not use it would able to get it!"

"I think you're right!" agreed Amelia.

"That means the stone was probably safer than I thought, as most people would be going after the Sorcerer's Stone with intent of using it. But that doesn't excuse or justify the danger that Dumbledore has put all the students in, and it doesn't justify his manipulation."

"I hope to deal with Albus sooner rather than later, " said Amelia, handing the Sorcerer's Stone back to Nicolas.

"Thank you, Amelia, " said Nicolas, "I'm going to look after the stone myself from now on."


	14. Histroy and House Elves

The next day, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather started their morning with an enjoyable breakfast of pancakes, sausage patties, and Heineken before Heather addressed the group.

"When I was a student at Hogwarts, " explained Heather, "Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts had much more competent teachers. But even then, the useless ghost teacher, Professor Binns, taught History of Magic."

"Why is he a useless teacher?" asked Harry curiously.

"It's hard to explain to someone who's never sat through one of his classes, " answered Heather honestly, "But the long and the short of it is that he drones on in such a way that he makes the most interesting and exciting subjects more boring than watching paint dry. The whole class is almost always in a stupor. Most students give up even trying to listen to him. In my day it wasn't uncommon to see students playing hangman and tic tac toe in Binns's class. Because the bored students never asked any questions in his classes and because he never asked them any, he never even learns his student's names."

"Why has he been able to retain his job for so long if he's such a useless teacher?" inquired Amy.

"The answer to that question is precisely what pisses me off about the Binns situation, " said Heather fretfully, "You see, a long line of Hogwarts headmasters has simply not considered History of Magic to be a particularly important subject. The headmasters have allowed Binns to keep his job as long as he shows up for work every day because they haven't considered History of Magic that big of a deal as a subject."

"I couldn't disagree more, " piped up Susan fiercely, "It is of the utmost importance that witches, and wizards understand how the customs, lifestyles, and circumstances of their world came to be."

"And, " realized Hannah, "If students don't learn History of Magic properly, many witches and wizards will grow up to be adults and have a quite insufficient understanding or even awareness of many aspects of their world. Even some purebloods may suffer from this."

"Exactly, " beamed Heather, nodding at Susan and Hannah, "Fortunately for me, I had a strong natural interest in History of Magic and studied the subject extensively on my own. The point now is, while I am responsible for teaching the four of you, I'm going to emphasize History of Magic just as much as Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts. Today's History of Magic lesson will cover house elves. Topsy!"

Topsy appeared a nanosecond later, "Yes, Mistress Heather?" asked Topsy.

"Topsy, I am going to be teaching Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all about house elves today. I've brought you out so that you can correct me if I say something that is wildly inaccurate."

"Yes, Mistress Heather, " said Topsy, giving her a small bow, "But Topsy is sure Mistress Heather will be a fine job."

"Thank you, Topsy, " smiled Heather, "Now, how the species known as house elves came into existence is unknown. For time out of mind, the wealthiest wizarding families in Great Britain have lived in large manors. In the 15th century, that was a single woman who lived by herself in such a manor. Her name was Sally Soar. She had a passion for animals, being particularly interested in creatures with the power of flight. Sally Soar wrote a popular bestiary on creatures with the power of flight called Wonderous Winged World that was first published in 1414. Anyway, a family of house elves that lived near Sally Soar's manor. This family of house elves volunteered to serve Sally. It has always been the passion of house elves to serve humans and this family of house elves saw a natural opportunity. Sally's family of house elves consisted of four house elves named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. These house elves helped her by cooking and cleaning for her, and so forth."

" And, " mused Harry, "That began the origin of house elves being tied to manors."

"Exactly, " said Heather matter of factly, " After her bestiary was published, Sally Soar became well known in wizarding Britain at the time. During an interview with the Wizard's Council, which preceded the Ministry of Magic, Sally Soar was asked how she managed her manor. When she explained about her house elves, the Wizard's Council arranged for individual house elves and families thereof to be tied to specific manors, buildings, and people. Most house elves serve either a manor or a building, though a few serve individuals. If a manor is inherited or purchased, the new owner then also owns any house elves that are tied to it."

"So are house elves bound to a manor for life?" inquired Amy.

"Usually, yes, however, in some cases, a master or mistress will be displeased with a house elf's work. In such cases, a house elf can be freed by giving it clothes, " explained Heather.

"Would any house elf actually want to be free?" asked Harry.

"It was discovered that house elves get a magical boost from being bonded to a manor or building or witch or wizard, " said Heather matter of factly. "If a house elf is not bonded to a manor or similar building or to a witch or wizard, his or her life is shortened by at least half. Some purebloods wizards abuse their house elves."

"And some house elves in a such a position would want to be freed, preferring a shorter life if that what it takes to leave the abuse behind, "realized Susan.

"That's right, " said Heather briskly, "But the only way a house elf can be set free is to give it clothes. Witches and Wizards have to be careful not to do so accidently."

"If a house elf has been dismissed, can it bond again?" asked Hannah.

"Absolutely, " answered Heather, "That is a how a house elf becomes bound to a person rather than a building. In cases where a house elf is dismissed, it will often bond to an individual instead of a building. A small number of wizards who are not wealthy enough to afford a manor but could be helped out in some way by a house elf's work have been bonded with house elves. In some cases, a strong emotional bond between the house elf and it's individual owner may occur."

"Do house elves have freedom of speech?" asked Harry.

"No, " said Heather firmly, "They are magically to keep the secrets of their masters and mistresses, well, secret."

"Doesn't matter, " piped up Topsy, "Most of our kind aren't chatterboxes anyways, "We prefer to work and work quietly as much as possible."

"One last note of interest, " said Heather, "Is that Hogwarts holds the largest contingent of house elves in Britain with over a thousand."


	15. All About Wand Care

A few nanoseconds after Heather had finished her lecture on house elves, she turned to the Yellow Quartet and said "Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah and said, "Let me see your wands."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all handed Heather their wands and she inspected them one by one. Heather frowned when she examined Harry's and Amy's wands but smiled when she evaluated Susan's and Hannah's wands.

"Susan, Hannah, " smiled Heather, "Your wands are in outstanding condition."

Heather handed Susan and Hannah their wands back and turned to Harry and Amy with a serious kind expression.

"Harry, Amy, " said Heather calmly, "I'm not criticizing you, but both of your wands are filthy. Now, there are plenty of pureblood wizard who either don't know or don't practice proper wand care so I'm not singling either you out."

"But mom and Amelia Bones are very knowledgeable about wand care and have passed that knowledge on to us, " said Hannah, giving Heather a smile.

"Yes, " said Heather briskly, "Now Harry, Amy, are either you familiar with any wand care products?"

"No, " chorused Harry and Amy.

"I thought not, " said Heather, "Wand care products are not part of Hogwarts required school supplies. Not all witches and wizards know of the existence of these products and some who do either don't think to get them or chose not to get them because they aren't required. But to get the best performance out of a wand, it needs to be well cared for."

"Does Olivander sell these products?" asked Harry.

"No, " said Heather clearly, "They are sold at a separate, lesser known shop in Diagon Alley known as Smart Sorcery Supplies."

"Even if such products would be useful, " realized Harry, "We can't risk a trip to Diagon Alley-"

"There's a way around that, "Smiled Heather, "But first, let's get you familiar with what these products are. First there are wand holsters. They are long rectangular boxes that have been bewitched with Anti Dust charms. All the wands in Olivander's shop are stored in such holsters until they are sold. Wand holsters are mainly used to store wands when the owners of the wands are getting some shut eye."

"But they help prevent the buildup of dust on wands when wands are not used, " realized Harry.

"Very good, Mr. Potter, " smiled Heather, "Another useful wand care product is wand polish."

"That sounds pretty self-explanatory, " piped up, "But how often should wand polish be applied?"

"Once a week and no matter, " said Heather, "While wands do need to be cleaned periodically, using too much polish or using it too frequently will cause the wood finish to start to peel away. You will both need to be taught how to polish your wands and I will be teaching you how as soon as we acquire the supplies to do so."

"is that it then?" asked Harry.

"Hell no, " said Heather firmly, "You can also buy wand tape. Wand tape is a thin and clear tape that cannot be seen once it placed onto a wand. But this tape is actually an alarm. If your wand has wand tape on it, it will sound an alarm if you store or place your wand in an unsafe place."

"That sounds useful, " said Harry matter of factly.

"It is, " confirmed Heather, "But there's also the matter of how to handle your wand. Wands should only ever be held from the bottom. Fingerprints add up fast on wands. That's one reason for the polish of course. But it's best to limit the buildup in the first place. Topsy?"

"Mistress Heather called?" piped up Topsy.

"Yes, " said Heather simply, "Topsy, I want you to go to Smart Sorcery Supplies and buy two complete sets of wand care supplies, one each for Harry and Amy."

Next nanosecond, the house elf vanished.


	16. Developments and Death Thoughts

When Topsy returned from Smart Sorcery Supplies, she brought back not two wand care kits, but seven. "Topsy bought back enough wand care kits for everyone in the house to also have a backup."

"That was very smart, Topsy, " said Heather approvingly, "Now we're set for a while. Place the five backups in our storage area and give Harry and Amy one each."

Topsy handed Harry and Amy their wand care kits and went to put the backups away.

Next nanosecond, Amelia Bones had apparated in.

"Hi, Auntie," said Susan Warmly.

"Hello, Susan, " said Amelia.

Quickly turning to Heather, Amelia said, "Heather we have some major developments."

"Such as?" inquired Heather.

"The Ministry has intelligence that Dumbledore has left the UK. Our intelligence is that Dumbledore is heading for Albania."

"Why would Dumbledore go to Albania? a confused Heather asked Amelia.

"Our intelligence is that whatever form of Voldemort survived ten years has taken up shop in an Albanian forest, " explained Amelia, "We believe that Dumbledore is trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."

"As bad Dumbledore is, why would he want Voldemort to return to power?" asked Harry, "Aren't Dumbledore and Voldemort enemies?"

"It may seem so on the surface, " said Amelia with a shudder, "But the truth is that, just as Dumbledore has no friends, he has no enemies either. Dumbledore is on Dumbledore's side and Dumbledore's side only. He will support or oppose anyone if it benefits him. That's part of what makes Dumbledore so dangerous."

"What if Voldemort does come back?" asked fearfully.

"We actually have an upper hand on him now, " said Amelia firmly, "The unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries have discovered why Voldemort didn't actually die ten years ago. This knowledge will allow us to defeat him if he should ever return."

"What's up then?" asked Harry.

"When Voldemort was a student at Hogwarts, he learned how to make Horcruxes. These are objects you can store a part of your soul in so that you don't die if you are attacked. You lose your body but keep a feeble form of life. It's very dark magic though. Murder is required to make a Horcrux." explained Amelia.

"So, Voldemort be truly be killed if his Horcruxes were destroyed?" asked Amy.

"Yes, " confirmed Amelia, "The unspeakables are currently discussing ways to find and destroy the Horcruxes so that if Voldemort does rise again, he can be truly destroyed.

"Why would anyone want such a feeble life?' wondered Harry aloud, "Voldemort must have assumed that he could get his body back down the road if it were attacked."

"Exactly, " said Amelia simply, "But we don't know yet how he could regain a body. I do have a few unspeakables investigating that. But we're finding and destroying the Horcruxes our top priority."

"I think that's wise, " said Heather finally, "Keep an eye on things and see what happens. Thank you for keeping me informed."

"I know this will be an unpopular opinion, "said Harry uncomfortably, "But I wouldn't want immortality. I might like to live a little longer than what the expected human lifespan is, but I wouldn't want to live 665 years."

"Why not?" asked Amy curiously.

"This is actually easily answered, " said Harry calmly, "As you get older, your sight, hearing, walking, breathing, motion, etc. get weaker and weaker. Think about it, would you really want to live hundreds of years if it means being frail all that time."

Amy, Susan, and Hannah seemed to fall into deep thought at hearing this explanation from Harry.

"You know, I've always wished I could live forever, " said Susan matter of factly, "But I have to admit Harry has a point here. The more I think about it, the more I think Harry is right. Living hundreds of years would not be desirable because of the inevitable fragility you would have to deal with."

"I've come around to Harry's side too, after giving it a little thought, " said Hannah thoughtfully, "I too have fantasied about living forever. But, really, all due respect to Nicolas Flamel, I think it's better to live a normal lifespan and pass on. Length of fragility would only be length of misery."

"Well, I suspect Flamel's stone gives him health as well as life, " guessed Harry.

"Would you want a super long life if you could have it without the fragility?" asked Amy.

"That's not really worth discussing because it's simply not reality, " said Harry, "It just part of the nature of humans that we grow frail as we grow old. It just reaches a point where a life fragility isn't worth living anymore. I think nature has it right. I could see wanting a slightly longer lifespan but given the reality of old age and fragility I don't think immortality is desirable."


	17. Dumbledore's Move

A/N: With regard to destroying the Horcruxes, I think cannon has it right. They have to be destroyed by physical means that irreparably damage them. We see in cannon that magic such as "Reducto!" doesn't work on them. I don't think Avada Kadavra would work on them either. I don't think any magic, even powerful magic would work on them. I believe only physical means could be used to destroy them.

As the Ministry had feared, Dumbledore reached the Albanian forest where whatever was left of Voldemort was suspected to be hiding.

"Lord Voldemort?" probed Dumbledore upon his arrival in the Albanian forest.

"Yes, " replied an icy voice, "But only as a mere parasite. I do not have a body of my own. Quirrell failed to steal the Sorcerer's Stone from Gringotts. I hope he can steal it from Hogwarts. It's just the thing I need to return."

"Unfortunately, " Dumbledore informed Voldemort, "Flamel became suspicious and has removed the stone from Hogwarts. There is no chance of stealing it anymore."

"Are there any Death Eaters who are still loyal to me?" demanded Voldemort coldly.

"Three I know of, " responded Dumbledore, "Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr, and Severus Snape."

"Very good, " replied Voldemort quickly, with hunger in his voice, "But without the stone, I will have to make an ancient potion to get a body back. The ingredients needed for my resurrection are bone from my father, flesh from a servant, and the blood of an enemy. And I know which enemy I must take the blood from. It must be Harry Potter."

"Which servant do you plan to take flesh from?" asked Dumbledore.

'Not Snape, " said Voldemort at once, "He's too valuable to me whole."

"Bellatrix is entombed in Azkaban, " Dumbledore informed Voldemort, "It would be unwise for her to escape before you rise again as it would create fear and panic. You must pull off your return quietly and without fuss."

"So that leaves Barty Crouch Jr!" realized Voldemort.

"Yes, " confirmed Dumbledore, "He was in Azkaban, but his father smuggled him out. I don't believe you care about the details of how he escaped."

"No, " said Voldemort frostily, "Only how he can help me."

"He lives with his father, " explained Dumbledore, "His father has him under the Imperius Curse to stop him seeking you. His father forces him to wear an invisibility cloak as well. To gain access to Barty Crouch Jr, you must go to his house and put his father under the Imperius Curse."

"Very well, " said Voldemort, "But how can I lay hands on Harry Potter?"

"Not at Hogwarts, " said Dumbledore instantly, "Harry and his closest friends were pulled from Hogwarts after a day. I suspected Amelia Bones of removing them but a trip to Bones Manor proved me wrong there. It took me awhile for this to sink in, but I now believe Harry Potter and his friends have taken up residence at Abbott Manor."

"I'm going there now, " said Voldemort eagerly.

Voldemort attempted to apparated to Abbott Manor.

But with a loud thud, he found himself unable to enter.

Voldemort retuned to the Albanian forest and told Dumbledore what had happened.

Dumbledore made his own attempt to apparate into Abbott Manor and the same thing happened to him that had happened to Voldemort,

"My Lord, " said Dumbledore fearfully, "We cannot enter Abbott Manor. Heather Abbott must have the building under the Fiedulus Charm."

"Fuck!" screamed Voldemort.


	18. Harry and Amy Learn Wand Care

Meanwhile, back at Abbot Manor, Heather said, "Harry and Amy, I want to start teaching you two wand care. Susan and Hannah, please sit patiently while I teach Harry and Amy proper wand care."

"Okay, " replied Susan and Hannah.

"What are we learning about wand care first?" chorused Harry and Amy.

"Harry and Amy, " requested Heather, "Would you two please put your wands in a back pocket?"

Harry's and Amy's faces both showed confusion, but they did as they were told.

"Your back pocket is a very dangerous place to keep your wand, " said Heather matter of factly.

"That makes sense, " said Harry wisely, "Much more likely to be stolen there."

"And what if it ignited, " added Amy, "if that were to happen, you'd do much worse damage to your person if the wand was in your back pocket than if it was anywhere else. "

"You're both right, " smiled Heather, "And that's where wand tape comes in. Susan and Hannah, could you two please put your wands in your back pockets just for a few seconds?"

As Susan and Hannah put their wands in their back pockets, a horrible high pitched screeching occurred, and Susan and Hannah returned their wands to their front pockets immediately.

Knowing what was to come, Harry and Amy placed their wands on the table and took out their wand tape.

"Even if you know better than to put your wand in your back pocket, " explained Heather, "It's inevitable that there will be times when you do so absentmindedly. If a wand has wand tape on it, the screeching alarm will go off if the wand is placed somewhere unsafe. This alarm is deliberately made to sound unpleasant so that witches and wizards will move their wands right away once they hear it."

"It has to be that way, " said Susan smartly, "If the noise was pleasant, people wouldn't necessarily move their wands to a safer place when hearing it."

"And if it were a "whatever" sound people might take a "whatever" attitude towards it, " added Hannah.

"So, " guessed Amy, "You're going to teach me and Harry how to apply wand tape to our wands?"

"Yes, " smiled Heather.

"Does wand tape ever have to be reapplied?" inquired Harry.

"Yes, " answered Heather, "But you never have to remove it. Just apply a fresh coat at least once a month anytime you notice the alarm sounds weaker than usual."

"So?" asked Amy determinedly, "How do you apply wand tape to a wand?"

"It's actually quite simple, "said Heather matter of factly, "You just wrap the tape around your wand. As you do so, the tape will meld into the wand and you won't see or feel it at all. It simply becomes part of the wand's very essence."

Harry and Amy wrapped their wand tape around their wands and watched in amazement as the tape seemed to sink into the wands and disappear.

When they had completed the job, Harry and Amy tested the results by placing the wands back in their back pockets.

The screeching alarm they had heard from Susan's and Hannah's wands a few minutes and a few nanoseconds before now emitted from Harry's and Amy's wands and they returned to the table as fast as their hands would allow.

"Very good, Harry and Amy, " beamed Heather, "Good job on thinking to test the results out after applying the wand tape. Now, let's get your wands polished."

"So, what do we use to put the polish on?" asked Harry.

"Nothing," answered, Heather, "You may be thinking of the muggle world where rags and cloths are often used to apply cleaning agents. But wand polish a decidedly magical substance. You spray wand polish onto your wand directly from the can and the wand will absorb it, resulting in the cleaning and shining of the wand. The only thing you have to watch out for is not to overdo it. Overdosing on wand polish can cause a wand's wood finish to come off. Thus, wands should be polished a maximum of once a week and only a light coat of wand polish should be applied each time. Be light and gentle with the nozzle that sprays the polish."

Harry and Amy each took out their cans of wand polish and each sprayed the polish on their wands starting at the tip. As Heather had instructed, Harry and Amy did so gently.

Once their wands, which had previously been noticeably fifthly when compared with Susan's and Hannah's, were suddenly as clean and shiny as they had been when they had first bought them from Olivander's.

"Wow, " said Harry happily, "I love how my wand looks now. I knew it wasn't as clean as Susan's or Hannah's, but I had no appreciation for just how truly fifthly it actually was."

"Yeah, the wand polish did its job, " added Amy simply.

"Very good, " beamed Heather, "Now we just need to show you how to hold your wands properly."

But to Heather's delight, Harry and Amu, despite having held their wands in any number of which ways up to that point, promptly demonstrated the proper way of holding their wands with their hands on the bottom to avoid fingerprint buildup.

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Heather, "That is perfect! Clearly you two were paying attention to what I told you earlier. It's nice to be teaching students who actually want to learn."

"You're a fantastic teacher, " Heather, " said Harry warmly.

"The last element of wand care is your wand holsters, but since it's just approaching lunchtime, I don't want you putting your wands in your wand holsters just yet. But, before you go to bed tonight, I want you to place your wands in your wand holsters. These will prevent the buildup of dust on your wands while you are asleep. For now, just return your wands to your front pockets, " finished Heather.

Harry and Amy returned their wands to their front pockets feeling the satisfaction of a successful lesson.


	19. Heather and Amelia Form a Plan

After Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Heather, and Amelia enjoyed a lunch of hamburgers with mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, onions, lettuce and pickles with fries on the side and Jack Daniels to wash it down with, Heather turned to Amelia.

"Amelia, " said Heather, "I want to ask you a favor."

"Any time, Heather, " smiled Amelia.

"Do you have any pressing work you need to do at your office tomorrow?" Heather asked Amelia.

"No, " said Amelia matter of factly, "The most urgent thing at the Ministry right is identifying, finding, and destroying all of the Horcruxes. That job is being done by the unspeakables. Do you wish me to be somewhere tomorrow?"

"Yes," said Heather at once, "I want you to go to Hogwarts and gather evidence against Severus Snape. We have two goals; Getting Snape removed from Hogwarts and getting him convicted of being a Death Eater."

"I will do it, " promised Amelia a nanosecond later, "Tomorrow I will go to Hogwarts. I will interview students who have been in Severus Snape's classes. I will interrogate Snape using Veritasiurium and I will force him to give me memories. I will also be looking at both of his arms to see if he has a Dark Mark. If he does have a Dark Mark, I will arrest him."

"What is a Dark Mark?" asked Harry in confusion.

"It's the Death Eaters symbol, " explained Amelia, "It's a kind of greenish skull thing. Voldemort and his Death Eaters would fire it into the sky from their wands when they killed. But all Death Eaters also have the Dark Mark burnt into their skin. When Voldemort wanted to call them, he would press his Dark Mark and the Death Eaters would feel their Dark Marks burn and know they had to answer their master."

"That's barbaric!" yelped Amy.

"Voldemort was never known for being humane, " said Heather.

"Heather?" asked Amelia, "Do you want me to interrogate Dumbledore while I'm at Hogwarts tomorrow?"

"No," said Heather firmly, "If we are to bring Dumbledore down, it must be done slowly and subtlely. If we try to remove Dumbledore from Hogwarts or go after him legally, his supporters from within would make it very difficult for us. That's actually another reason to go after Snape first. If we can get Snape removed from Hogwarts AND convicted of being a Death Eater, then Dumbledore's position will be greatly weakened. The one person who will go to any lengths to defend and support Dumbledore is Severus Snape."

"My plan, " said Amelia briskly, "Is to interview a few older non Slytherin students about what life in Snape's Potions classes are like. I want to hear this from students who have been in his classes for several years. Then I'll give Snape the Veritasiurium and watch his memories. But checking for the Dark Mark is the biggie. If Snape has a Dark Mark, he will be arrested on the spot. The biggest legal mistake the Ministry made during the old Death Eater trails was failing to check their persons for the Dark Mark. Had this been done, far fewer of them would've gotten off."

"Very well, Amelia, good luck tomorrow!" said Heather.


	20. Catching Snape

Amelia put on an invisibility cloak and made her way to Hogwarts. Amelia entered the Great Hall just as breakfast was ending and it was her great fortune that the first two people to exit the staff table and leave the Great Hall were Dumbledore and Snape himself. This provided Amelia with an opportunity to go talk to some of the other teachers and see if they would help her.

Amelia approached the staff table and removed her invisibility cloak.

"Filus, Pomona, Minerva?" asked Amelia, "I would like to ask you something. I am here to investigate Severus Snape. I would like to know what the average O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. Potions scores of the students in your houses were like in the decade before Snape came to Hogwarts and what they've been like since he arrived here."

"Well, " snapped McGonagall, "If students aren't achieving as highly as they should on their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. then that's their own fault for not putting enough effort into their work and/or not studying enough."

McGonagall stormed out of the hall.

"I don't think Minerva actually likes Snape, " said Flitwick to Amelia, "But she's so loyal to Dumbledore that she won't actually criticize or act against Dumbledore's favorite member of staff."

"McGonagall being loyal to Dumbledore in information worth filing away, " said Amelia firmly, "But would either of you be willing to answer my original question?"

"Yes," responded Flitwick, "Ravenclaws have traditionally been outstanding Potions students and in the decade prior to Snape taking over the role of Potions Master, Ravenclaws were earning average scores of O's on both their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Since Snape turned up and took that post, Ravenclaws average scores on both their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. has dropped to A."

"Hufflepuffs have never been elite potion brewers, " admitted Sprout, "But in the decade before Snape they were achieving as on both their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Since Snape started teaching Potions, the average O.W.L. score in Potions for Hufflepuffs has fallen to D. Now, the average N.E.W.T. score for Hufflepuffs in Potions has actually increased to E, but that's fool's gold. Professor Snape absolutely refuses to accept students into his N.E.W.T. level courses who have not attained a grade of O on their Potions O.W.L. The improved N.E.W.T. average for Hufflepuffs during Snape's tenure is simply the result of extremely low sample size. Only a very few Hufflepuffs have ever taken Snape's N.E.W.T. level Potions course and those few have been the cream of the crop in terms of there being a few elite potion brewers in Hufflepuff. But there have been more than a few years in which NO Hufflepuff has taken N.E.W.T. Potions under Snape's regime and in most of the rest, Snape has only taken one Hufflepuff into his N.E.W.T. level classes."

"Fuck Severus Snape!" said Amelia in an icy cold voice, "Now I know why the Ministry has seen so few new Auror applicants in recent years and why St Mungo's has seen so few new Healer applicants. You have to earn a Potions N.E.W.T. to even be considered for those occupations. Snape is going to bring the whole Wizarding World into shambles with his non-teaching of such a crucial subject in our world."

"Are you planning on sitting in on one of his classes today?" asked Flitwick.

"Yes, " said Amelia in a businesslike voice, "I'm going to use my invisibility cloak."

"Sit on his class after lunch, it's the first year Gryffindors and the first year Slytherins," suggested Sprout.

"Okay, " said Amelia, "This morning I'll go into the History of Magic classroom and interview some students there. No one pays attention to Binns anyway."

A few minutes and a few nanoseconds later, Amelia was in the History of Magic, which was full of third years.

Quietly, Amelia made her way up to Angelina Johnson.

"Hey, Miss Johnson?" said Amelia, "You're not in trouble, but I want to interview you. My name is Amelia Bones and I am head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I am here investigating Professor Snape-

"It's about time someone did that!" said Angelina fiercely.

"So, what can you tell about what Snape's classes are like?'

"He favors the Slytherins, " said Angelina in a no nonsense type of voice, "He bullies non Slytherin students. And I heard it through the grapevine that Snape purposely sets ridiculously easy homework and essays for the Slytherins while setting homework and essays several years above what is age appropriate for Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. When I was in my first year, I was genuinely stunned by how much harder Potions was, not only compared to what I expected to but also how difficult it was compared to ANY other subject. Now I understand."

'More conformation of Snape's non-teaching.

"And, " added Alicia Spinnet, who was sitting next to Angelina because they were besties, "Sometimes we get in trouble even the Slytherins sabotage our potions while they always get with anything."

"Then there's the fact, " added Fred Weasley a few seats down, "That he'll mark our potions as zeros if we make one mistake no matter how much better they are than the Slytherin's Potions."

"Plus, " continued George Weasley, "He'll give the Slytherins Os for their work as long they follow one line of the instructions correctly."

"He also taunts us about our family being poor, " added Fred, "And makes snide remarks about our supposed ineptitude in Potions."

"I've heard what I needed to here, " said Amelia firmly, "I'm going to be using an invisibility cloak to sit in on his first class after lunch. Also, if he has the Dark Mark on his arm, then I will be arresting him, and he will face a trial for being a Death Eater.'

"Good, " said Angelina approvingly, "Let's get the greasy haired bastard out of Hogwarts."

"That's why I'm here, " smiled Amelia.

After lunch, Amelia used her invisibility cloak to sit in on Snape's class featuring the first year Gryffindors and first year Slytherins.

She hid away in a corner and was careful not to move or talk.

After some course introduction that sounded to Amelia that was meant to sound more impressive than it really was, Snape said suddenly. "Ah, this class contains Neville Longbottom."

Amelia listened intently for any signs of malice.

"You know, Longbottom, even when your parents were useful, which was a long time ago, they were lamentable potion makers. The apple won't have to fall far from the tree for you to be a dunderhead, " said Snape with a smirk.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Amelia saw tears forming in Neville's eyes and knew why; his parents had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. Snape was showing his true character here by taunting Neville about his parents."

Later on, Snape had the students brew Cure for Boils. Draco Malfoy made a major mistake in his potion by adding porcupine quills to the mixture while the cauldron was still on the fire.

There was a loud hissing sound and acid green smoke filled the room.

Malfoy's cauldron had melted, and his potion was seeping across the floor.

Some of the potion had splashed onto Neville and angry red boils sprung up on his arms and legs.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for appearing in such a manner, Longbottom. Go to the hospital wing and get out of my sight, " snarled Snape.

"And you, Patil?" said Snape, turning to Parvati, "Why didn't you tell him to take the cauldron off the fire before adding the quills, thought you'd look better if he suffered? Another ten points from Gryffindor.'

Parvati looked stunned. How could this be her fault.

"And before we go, " said Snape, "Twenty points to Slytherin for their outstanding Potions skills. Class dismissed."

"Stupefy!" cried Amelia, pointing her wand at Snape and stunning him.

Finally taking off her invisibility cloak, Amelia walked up to unconscious form of Snape and lifted up the sleeve of his left arm.

Not to her surprise, Amelia did indeed find the Dark Mark tattooed there, though it was deeper and more solid than any Dark Mark tattoo she'd ever seen, save for Bellatrix Lestrange's.

Amelia conjured a pair of handcuffs and restrained Snape.

When Amelia woke Snape up, she told him, "There are many issues surrounded you, but you under arrest for being a Death Eater."


	21. Afternoon Fun

Snape was taken to a Ministry holding cell that was warded against disapparation as a trial for Snape was scheduled for the next Monday at the Wizengamot.

Amelia sent Heather an owl informing her of the successful arrest. Heather informed Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah. They all agreed to take a wait and see approach on what would happen to Snape but were cautiously optimistic that he would be convicted on multiple charges, including being a Death Eater.

"This afternoon, " said Heather with a genuine smile, "I think you kids have earned a break. I've been pushing you pretty hard and you've been great students. So, I think we'll take it easy this afternoon. How would the Yellow Quartet like a swim in the pool? I know none of you have bathing suits, but I'm okay with you four swimming in the pool naked."

So, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah took off all their clothes and walked naked out to pool.

To the delight of Amy, Susan, and Hannah, it was obvious in the afternoon sun that Harry's scar removal cream was starting to do its job. There was still a way to go but-

"Harry, your scars look a lot more feint than when I first saw them, " said Hannah happily.

"That cream is working, " said Susan confidently, "We do have to be a bit patient with it, but seeing the scars start to fade is a great sign.'

"I think Madam Pomfrey will be happy with the progress I'm making, " said Harry hopefully.

"Your scars may be gone by then, " said Amy encouragingly, "And the Nutrient Potion seems to be working as well. We're only a few days in, and you've gained a few pounds and look a little healthier. Again, you've got a way to go. But the early success is encouraging."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah got into the pool and enjoyed about fifteen minutes of swimming before Heather called them out of the pool to have a fly.

Heather presented Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah each with Nimbus 2001 broomsticks.

"These are new brooms, " said Heather, "They're the best racing brooms in the world except for Firebolts. I won't buy Firebolts because they are too expensive. I know the Abbotts are implausibly wealthy. But, even having the funds to be able to do so, I think it's a waste of money to spend a king's ransom on a racing broom when there are really good racing brooms that are quite reasonably priced."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all took one Nimbus 2001 and kicked off hard from the ground.

Up, up, they soared, and before they knew it, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were high in the air.

Harry was the best by far.

"Wow, Mr. Potter, " said Heather in amazement, "I've never seen anyone fly that well."

Hannah was the second best followed by Susan and then Amy. But they all flew well. Harry was much more skilled at making turns on a broom than the girls and that was the difference that made him the best flier.

"That was really fun, " piped up Harry when he, Amy, Susan, and Hannah had landed, "But I haven't changed my mind about Quidditch. Flying is awesome. But I still have no interest in Quidditch."

"I don't understand, " said Hannah, "Why so many witches and wizards think they need to play a violent game to have fun on broomsticks. Just pure flying is a lot more fun with a lot less danger."

"Auntie Amelia never considered letting me play Quidditch, "interjected Susan, "And when a babysitter took Hannah and I to a professional match, I understood why at once. We saw up close how violent and dangerous the sport really is.'

"I grew up an avid sports fan, " added Amy, "With a particular liking for baseball and basketball. However, from the point of view of spectator sports, I think I would find Quidditch both boring and inherently unfair. If understand the rules correctly, one team could be far superior to another and in one instant see a hundred forty point lead, which would be a fourteen goal lead, become a loss because the damn snitch carries way too much weight."

"Plus, " smiled Harry, I love the simplicity of flying on brooms."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah got back on their brooms and had a few races, all of which Harry won.

"Now, " said Heather, "There's a reason I had you stay naked after getting out of the pool. You're going to have a water balloon fight. "

Heather pointed to a group of water balloons on the ground that were bright vivid colors: yellow, pink, orange. lime green, sky blue, and milky white.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah started throwing the water balloons at each other.

Each hit each of the others a few times and got hit by each of the others a few times. There was no clear winner and that didn't bother of them.

By the end of the water balloon fight when all the water balloons were gone, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were laughing, giggling, and having a good old time.

It was a pure moment. Friends having fun with friends and kids being kids.


	22. Snape's Trial

That next Monday, Amelia brought Snape before the Wizengamot as planned.

"Good morning, witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, " began Amelia, "Before we start with the proceedings, there is something you should all see."

Next nanosecond, Amelia lifted up Snape's left sleeve and showed the Wizengamot the Dark Mark.

There were gasps and cries "what!" heard throughout the courtroom. Many witches and wizards of the Wizengamot had taken Dumbledore at his word when he proclaimed Snape to be innocent and on their side. Now that they saw the mark, most of them now wondered how much more Snape got away with.

"I'm going to give Severus Snape three drops of Veritasiurium and then I'm going to question him in front of you all. Then I'm going to show you some memories."

Amelia forced three drops of Veritasiurium down Snape's throat.

After giving the potion a minute to kick in, Amelia grilled Snape.

"Let's cut to the chase, " piped up Amelia, "Were you at any time a Death Eater."

"Yes, " spilled Snape instantly, "I was one of the Dark Lord's most trusted servants."

"How long have you been a Death Eater?" inquired Amelia.

"Regardless of how long I've officially been a Death Eater, I have, in a way, been a Death Eater since my first year at Hogwarts. I was always in love with the Dark Arts, I was always fascinated by how much power the Dark Lord seemed to be gaining, and a loyal Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, was my bestie at Hogwarts, " replied Snape smoothly.

There shocked looks and groans when the name Lucius Malfoy's name was mentioned in that context. Lucius's reputation at the Ministry, including with the Wizengamot, was always one of an upstanding citizen who donated generously to worthy charities.

The real truth was that Lucius was both cunning enough and ruthless enough to have been the Dark Lord himself if Voldemort had not existed. There was also no sincerity or genuineness in his charity. His donations were made for his own gain because they gained him favor with people of influence and especially with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Amelia felt her insides churn. It looked as though Severus Snape might not be only Death Eater who needed to be dealt with.

Realizing she needed to get the truth about Lucius while she had this opportunity, Amelia asked Snape, "The records indicate that Lucius Malfoy was acquitted of being a Death Eater on the grounds that he had acted under the influence of the Imperius Curse. Do you know if this is true?"

"It is not. The Dark Lord did use the Imperius Curse on occasion. But the Dark Lord's use of the Imperius wasn't nearly as common as the public believes. Lucius Malfoy was the one who contacted the Dark Lord, not the other way around. Lucius offered his services to the Dark Lord without being prompted to. I used my own influence at Hogwarts to get Lucius a seat on the Board of Governors."

"Does Lucius have any dark activity planned for Hogwarts?" Amelia grilled Snape.

"I don't know, " said Snape simply, "But I do know that Lucius's greatest desire is to see the Dark Lord rise again."

"It looks like Lucius Malfoy will need to be brought in for interrogation, " said Amelia in a no nonsense type of voice, "But what role has Dumbledore had in your life."

A small smile curled onto Snape's lips.

"Dumbledore would trust me with his life, " boasted Snape.

"That is very disturbing, " said Amelia coldly, "But how did you firs come into contact with Dumbledore?"

"Initially, I was ordered by the Dark Lord to take up a post at Hogwarts to spy on Dumbledore. Dumbledore was working against the Dark Lord at the time, " answered Snape.

"Would Dumbledore ever consider changing sides if Voldemort rose again?" grilled Amelia.

"Absolutely, " spilled Snape, "But only if it was in his best interest. If he thinks it's in his interest to work against the Dark Lord, he'll work against the Dark Lord. If he thinks it's in his best interest to support the Dark Lord, he'll support the Dark Lord. If he thinks it's in his interest to help sides. he'll help both sides.

"That's the most dangerous type of person, " realized Amelia, "On only his side. He'll be another person we'll have to deal with. But why did Dumbledore allow you to stay and teach at Hogwarts?"

"He knew there was a possibility that it might be in his best interests to align with the Dark Lord down the road. He knew if it came to that, having developed a good relationship with me with gain him favor with the Dark Lord, " explained Snape.

Amelia asked Snape no more questions but next showed the Wizengamot her memories of her interviews of students about Snape's classes as well as the class she'd sat in on.

When this was all through there was no doubt in any of their minds.

"So," announced Amelia, "It's time for a vote. All in favor of convicting Severus Snape of being a Death Eater?"

Every single hand in the courtroom found its way into the air.

"Severus Snape, we the Wizengamot, the high court of Wizarding Britain, find you guilty of being a Death Eater, " Amelia informed Snape.

Snape said nothing. Dumbledore had given him a plan on how to act and answer questions to get himself off, but Amelia's use of Veritasiurium had thwarted that.

"Now that we know Severus Snape is guilty of being a Death Eater, we must decide what to do about him," said Amelia matter of factly to witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, "What should happen to Snape now? What should his punishment be?"


	23. Snape's Fate

"Is Snape still under that Truth Potion?" piped up Wizengamot wizard Patrick Patil.

"Yes," answered Amelia simply.

"Then I think we should ask him a few further questions, " said Patrick in a businesslike voice.

"Fire away, then, " encouraged Amelia.

"Snape, " asked Patrick icily, "Did you often kill in the course of your stint as a Death Eater?"

"I did participate in a few muggle killings, " spilled Snape, "But most of the time I provided information to other Death Eaters or to the Dark Lord himself. Oftentimes my information allowed the Dark Lord to track down and kill people he wanted revenge on or else out of his way. The Dark Lord also sometimes made strategic decisions based on my information. For example, it was I who relayed a prophecy to the Dark Lord that caused him to attempt to kill Harry Potter."

"What did that prophecy say?" grilled Amelia.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born as the seventh month dies. Born to parents who have thrice defied him. And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives, " answered Snape.

"Does Dumbledore know about this prophecy?' questioned Amelia urgently.

"He's the one the it was made to, " revealed Snape, "It was made by a woman who Dumbledore was interviewing for a teaching post, the current Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney."

"And you told Voldemort about this prophecy?" asked Amelia with her eyes blazing.

"Yes, " said Snape, "I thought the Dark Lord could ensure his victory by acting on this prophecy and killing the baby in question, this fulfilling the prophecy and eliminating the danger."

"You were okay with a BABY being killed!" yelled Wizengamot witch Sarah Anne Perks.

"If that's what it took for the Dark Lord to triumph, then absolutely, " said Snape proudly and coldly.

"How many times did your information lead to murder or attempted murder by Voldemort or the Death eaters?" Amelia asked Snape.

"Several times a year, " answered Snape, "In some cases, I knew the people the Dark Lord wanted to kill personally and told him where to find them. In others, I worked to gain the trust of people before selling them to the Dark Lord, and yes, in a few cases, I knocked a few off myself."

"So, you are guilty of murder, the aiding and abetting of murder, deceit, betrayal, and abuse as well as of being a Death Eater!" spat Sarah.

"Yes!' said Snape carelessly.

"Knowing that, " said Amelia, "I will propose what should happen and then will we vote. If my proposal is not approved, I will take further suggestions. I suggest that Severus Snape receive the Death Penalty and be sent through the Death Veil."

There were several nods at this, including from Patrick and Sarah.

"All who support Severus Snape being sent through the Death Veil raise your hand now!" called Amelia.

Every single member of the Wizengamot, including Amelia herself, put his or her hand into the air.

"Very well, " said Amelia.

Next nanosecond, Amelia sent a taking patronus to a group of aurors informing them that Severus Snape was guilty of being a Death Eater and that he had been sentenced to the Death Veil.

The aurors came and took Snape away and took him to the Death Veil where he was thrown straight through it.

Severus Snape was no more.


	24. The Yellow Quartet's First Christmas

A/N: This post skips ahead to Christmas because I wanted to write a Christmas themed post and post it on Christmas. The next chapter after this one will pick up from where the previous one left off.

On Christmas day, 1991, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather woke up to find a couple inches of snow on the ground out their windows and it still snowing outside.

Yes, the Yellow Quartet would have a White Christmas.

"Wow, " said Amy in amazement as she stared outside, "Having grown up in Arizona, I've never had a White Christmas before."

"The look in your eyes is that of the wonder of a child experiencing a new fascination for the first time, " Heather told Amy with a smile.

Harry, Susan, and Hannah were wearing smiles as well.

Seeing their friend experience a White Christmas for the first time was pure beauty.

After a few minutes and few nanoseconds, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather made their way to the living room.

Heather had plugged in their Christmas tree, which came with a set of lights consisting of five colors: Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Orange.

Heather had also decorated the tree with ornaments varying from reindeer to snowmen to candy canes to trees to Santas.

There was a pile of presents stacked under the tree. There was also a large chocolate cake with the words Merry Christmas written on it in frosting alternating between red and green letters. There were also seventy five mini candles on it, all of which were lit.

"These candles, " explained Heather, "Represent our ages. Eleven for each of you and thirty one for me. I am going to call on each of you in turn. When I call on you, blow on the candles and a number of candles equal to your own age will go out. Once your candles have gone, you may sing one Christmas song. Then I will call on the next person. Harry Potter, you first."

Harry stepped forward and blew on the candles.

To Harry's amazement, exactly eleven candles went out the next nanosecond. Once Harry's candles had gone out, he belted out a high energy fast paced version of Holly Jolly Christmas.

"Amy Alworth next, " called Heather when Harry's singing had finished.

Amy came forth and blew with much more vigor than Harry had but still blew out precisely eleven candles. Amy followed this up by singing White Christmas, as she was still feeling that vibe.

As soon as Amy fell silent, Heather piped up, "Susan Bones, your turn."

Susan walked up to the candles and gave her puff. Once again, eleven candles were extinguished. Susan then broke out her catchy version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Once Susan's voice ceased, Heather announced, "Hannah Abbott, it's your time now."

Hannah came forward and blew on the candles more slowly and softly then any of the others. Hannah's breath still blew out her correct number of eleven candles. Hannah paused for a few seconds and a few nanoseconds after eliminating her eleven flames and performed a slow but sincere version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Harry, Amy. Susan, Heather, and Hannah herself all teared up a bit when Hannah came to the line "Through the years we all will be together if the fates allow."

Making sure to wait until Hannah had uttered her last syllable, Heather stepped up and took her blow and the remaining thirty one candle flames went out.

Deciding to transition with a more upbeat song, Heather burst into a loud and cheerful rendition of Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.

"Now, " said Heather fondly, "Let's eat our Christmas cake."

Heather raised her wand and pointed at the cake and cried "Cutius Fivius!" and the cake split itself into five perfectly equal parts.

"Oh, " added Heather, "You'll be needing plates and forks."

Heather raised her wand again and cried "Accio plates and forks."

Instantly, five plates and five forks came zooming towards them and one landed right in front of each of them. Heather put one piece of the cake of everyone's plates, and, fittingly, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather each took their first bite at exact same nanosecond.

"Man, this is best chocolate I've ever tasted, " beamed Harry.

"And the mint and cherry frosting flavors are fitting flavors for Christmas!" declared Amy.

"Thanks a lot heather!" beamed Harry.

"It wasn't me, " said Heather honestly, I can't cook at all. This was Topsy's work."

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather ate the cake slowly as to savor every bite. Then it was time to open presents.

"As you know, " Heather told Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah matter of factly, "Owing to the ongoing concern about keeping you away from Dumbledore and making sure he has no chance to run into any of you, I didn't allow you guys to leave Abbott Manor to buy Christmas presents for each other this year. I am hopeful that you will be afforded that opportunity next year. But I did send Topsy out to get you guys some presents, with myself choosing what the presents were."

"Did you get us all the same thing?" asked Susan.

"Yes," replied Heather, "I got each of you a few gifts that I thought would be fun for you to have around the house on weekends."

Heather reached under the tree and pulled out four yellow bags that had been shut with simple scotch tape. Heather gave one each to Harry, Amy, Susan and Hannah.

"Open up!" said Heather merrily.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah and Heather all opened the bags to discover five yellow kites.

"Excellent, " beamed Hannah, "Anything that can let us have fun outside is an outstanding present!"

"Not today, obviously, " smirked Susan.

Next nanosecond, Heather announced, "I also got each of you a gift box full of magical toys."

Heather dug around under the tree and retrieved four boxes that were wrapped in mostly red wrapping paper with little snowman and snowflake décor on them topped with green bows. Heather handed one box each to Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah happily ripped off the wrapping paper to discover four yellow boxes with the words Magical Toys written on them in black ink.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah lifted the lids off these boxes to discover a collection of magical toys that included screaming yo-yos, fanged frisbees, and ever bashing boomerangs.

"I think we're going to be having some noisy weekends around here soon, " grinned Amy.

"No doubt about that, " added Harry.

"But, " piped up Heather, "The Yellow Quartet's last present is something we can all enjoy together."

There was one last package under the tree, a large rectangular shaped covered in green wrapping paper with candy cane and reindeer décor topped off with red bows.

"Harry, I'd like you to do the honors, " smiled Heather.

Harry eagerly yanked off the wrapping paper to discover a clear and transparent tub like package that contained board games. These board games included Scrabble, Connect Four, Monopoly, chess, checkers, clue, backgammon, and classic concentration.

"OOH!" burst out Harry, "Since this is a magical house, we can't have things like TV, computers, video games etc. Board games, as they don't require access to electricity, are a great way for us to have indoor fun on weekends when it's too wet or cold to go outside."

"Mind works the right way, Harry!" grinned Heather.

"We're not quite done, " said Amy, "Heather, I have made you a gift. I'm going to retrieve it now."

Without hesitation, Amy zipped along to her room and was back in no time.

Amy returned with a plain white bag that was clearly holding whatever Amy had made for Heather.

Amy looked Heather straight in the eyes and said, "Heather, as you know, my parents abandon me at birth because I am an albino. I also found out that they would have disowned me later anyway because of my magic as they apparently view witches and wizards as "abnormal" Well, ever since I have been here, I have known nothing but support and kindness from you. You have become like the parent I never had to me. As a token of appreciation for what you have meant to me, I have painted a picture for you that I know you will enjoy but I waited until today to give it to you. Christmas just seemed like the perfect time."

Amy handed the bag to Heather, who dug into it to find a perfect painting of a total solar eclipse.

"Merlin's beard, it is perfect!" cried Heather softly as a few tears of emotion rolled down her cheeks, "So perfect I daresay someone looking at it would think there was a real solar eclipse going on."

"I know how much you're fascinated by the sun and moon, " explained Amy, "And when I decided I wanted to paint a picture for you a solar eclipse seemed like a natural."

"I am very touched by your thought, Amy, " squeaked Heather, "Not to mention the obvious effort and detail that went into this."

"You deserve it, " said Amy heartily, "You are the first adult who has ever been there for me."

After the emotion of this moment had calmed down a bit, Harry. Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather all burst into song together.

Harry. Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather all sang merrily:

"We wish you a Merry Christmas. "We wish you a Merry Christmas. "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"


	25. The Next Move

A few days after Snape was sent through the Death Veil, Amelia called a meeting of the Wizengamot to discuss their next move.

"Witches and Wizards of the Wizengamot, " called Amelia, "With Severus Snape out the way, I believe our next course of action should be to retry Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater."

"Particularly after what we heard from Snape, " said Patrick Patil, "Lucius's place on the Hogwarts Board of Governors is very troubling. "

"And Lucius is certainly cunning enough to pull off the ruthless undercover, " added Sarah Anne Perks, "After he has been arrested, his manor needs to be searched for dark objects."

"That will be done, " promised Amelia, "So, are we all agreed that retrying Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater is our next move?"

Every witch or wizard in the courtroom raised his or her hand.

"Very well, then, " said Amelia.

A few hours later, Amelia, covered in her invisibility cloak and carrying a white bag, apparated into Malfoy Manor.

Careful to remain covered in her cloak, Amelia slowly let her feet carry her from room to room until she found the one Lucius was in.

Amelia quickly raised her wand and performed a nonverbal stunning spell on Lucius, then immediately went to the work of arresting him.

Before taking Lucius away, Amelia lifted up Lucius's sleeves to discover that, sure enough, he had a Dark Mark.

Amelia then transferred Lucius to a Ministry holding cell that had been warded against disapparation and then returned to Malfoy Manor to search it.

Amelia now raised her wand and a performed a nonverbal spell designed to reveal any Dark Objects.

Upon performing this spell, Amelia noticed that much of the light it had created was coming from one particular room.

Letting herself into that room, Amelia further saw that much of that light was emanating from a black book on a desk.

Being trained to be very wary of dark books, Amelia dug into her right hand pocket and pulled out a magnifying glass.

Holding the magnifying glass up to her eyes and viewing the book through it, she saw a name engraved into the bottom of it.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Recognizing this as Lord Voldemort's original name, Amelia put a Summoning Charm on the book so that it could land in her bag without her having to touch it.

Lucius Malfoy being in possession of something that once belonged to Voldemort was a strong piece of evidence against him. Lucius would also have to be questioned under Veritasiurium to see what exactly the book was and what he had planned to do with it.

Looking around the room a bit more, Amelia saw that several vials of potion had also lit up when she had performed the spell to reveal dark objects.

Looking at the vials through her magnifying glass. Amelia saw labels such as Toxic to Muggles, Muggle Killer, and Pureblood Preserver.

Amelia knew that there were some potions that were suitable for wizards but poison to muggles, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had used this as a cunning form of killing during the war years.

After what Snape had said about Voldemort rising again being Lucius's greatest desire, Amelia suspected that Lucius was keeping these potions for such a time when Voldemort would come back.

While a thorough search of the house did turn up a few more objects that could be considered dark, Amelia was ultimately most concerned about the book and the potions.

Amelia called another meeting of the Wizengamot the very next morning to show them the potions and the book and also informed them that she had seen a dark Mark on Lucius's arm.

"We have the evidence against him, " said Patrick Patil, "Let's get his trail scheduled and then we can convict him and get him out of the picture and off that Board of Governors."

Wanting the situation dealt with quickly, Amelia said, "His trail can be on Monday."


	26. Lucius's Trial and Fate

That next Monday, Lucius was brought into the Wizengamot to stand trial and just as she had done with Snape, Amelia fed Lucius Veritasiurium to start the proceedings. She also lifted Lucius's arm up so that the Wizengamot could clearly see his Dark Mark.

"What is your name?" Amelia asked Lucius to open the trial.

"Lucius Malfoy, member of one of the venerable sacred twenty eight families. Centuries of pureness in my blood," answered Lucius.

"Who were your best friends when you were a student at Hogwarts?" inquired Amelia.

"Severus Snape, Barty Crouch Junior, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Narcissa Malfoy, " answered Lucius.

"That list includes several people known to be loyal Death Eaters, " said Amelia coldly, "Including some of Voldemort's most passionate and devoted supporters."

"Most of my friends from Hogwarts became Death Eaters as did I, " spilled Lucius, "In my case, the Dark Lord didn't even have to recruit me. I volunteered my services to him."

"Why did you become a Death Eater?" Amelia asked Lucius, "What were your motivations to join and support Voldemort?"

"Several reasons, " said Lucius briskly, "I wanted the power that came with being a Death Eater, I believed the Dark Lord could purify society by getting rid of muggles and muggleborns, and I enjoy torture."

"Did you ever commit murder?" grilled Amelia.

"I killed a few filthy muggles in my time, " said Lucius with a cruel laugh, "But most of the time, I was the one who tortured the filthy muggles before other Death Eaters or the Dark Lord himself finished them off."

"In what ways did you torture muggles?' Amelia asked Lucius in an icy tone.

"Mainly the Cruiatus Curse. That was a favorite of Bella's and Barty's as well. The Dark Lord is highly skilled in Legilimency and would often plant thoughts and visions in the minds of his victims that designed to torture them into madness. The rest of us didn't possess that power, but we would laugh our asses off at the victims when the Dark Lord did this. In addition to the Cruiatus Curse, I was also skilled at spells that could make victims feel extremely uncomfortably hot or cold., " said Lucius with an evil looking smirk.

"How often did you participate in acts of torture as a Death Eater?" pressed Amelia.

"Weekly, and sometimes twice a week, " grinned Lucius ruthlessly, "There is no greater sport in the world than muggle torture. The Dark Lord himself knew this."

"I found several muggle killing potions in your manor when I raided it, " piped up Amelia.

"I had planned to show those to the Dark Lord upon his inevitable return," bragged Lucius, "Thought that might help me gain special favor with the Dark Lord upon his return."

"And what about this book?" grilled Amelia as she opened her bag and pointed to Tom Riddle's diary.

"Touching it won't hurt you, " said Lucius matter of factly, "But it contains a preserved memory of the Dark Lord from roughly fifty years ago. This diary can be used to cause the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts to be opened and rid the school of the mudblood filth. The memory of the Dark Lord would work to possesses the owner of this diary to force him or her to open the Chamber of Secrets. I was planning on giving it to Ginny Weasley when the opportunity presented itself. In that way the stupid Weasley girl would be forced to open the Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts would be cleansed of its mudblood filth, and that muggle loving fool Arthur Weasley could be discredited, ensuring his ignorant idea for a Muggle Protection act went nowhere."

"And how did you get acquitted of being a Death Eater when Voldemort fell?' Amelia asked Lucius.

"Claimed the Imperius Curse excuse, " said Lucius casually, "Though in reality, I have never renounced the old ways and I never will."

"I think we have enough to go on, " said Amelia, "Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, raise your hand if you vote for convicting Lucius Malfoy of being a Death Eater."

Every single hand in the courtroom shot into the air a nanosecond later.

"Lucius Malfoy, you hereby convicted of being a Death Eater, " said Amelia matter of factly, "Now the Wizengamot will decide your fate."

"He MUST be removed from the Hogwarts Board of Governors, " cried Patrick Patil urgently.

"That is a given, " promised Amelia.

"Should he be sent through the Death Veil?" asked Sarah Anne Perks.

"Perhaps, " piped up Augusta Longbottom, "But Lucius should be made to suffer first. He should have to feel some of the torture he dished out. I know the Cruiatus Curse is illegal even as punishment, but I say Lucius should be subjected to the extreme hot and cold torture spells he used on others."

"I say, " piped up Patrick's wife, Patricia Patil, "That instead of being sent through the Death Veil directly, Lucius should be fed some kind of potion that causes really painful effects before finally ending in death. Then throw the dead body though the veil later on."

The Wizengamot debated Lucius's punishment for about an hour. Eventually, Lucius was sentenced seven days of torture ending in death at the end of the seventh day.

On each day, Lucius was subjected to alternating spells that caused the pain felt from extreme heat and extreme cold. He also was subjected to spells to make his throat sore and dry and his eyes watery. The room he was confined too also had a tape player constantly playing sounds of laughter as Lucius endured his torture. At the very end of the line, Lucius was given a potion that caused every bone in his body and every drop of blood in veins to hurt to the point of feeling on fire. After an hour, the potion caused Lucius to cough and gag uncontrollably. Eventually, Lucius ended up coughing blood, eventually o the point where he had lost so much blood that he just died. His body was then unceremoniously thrown though the Death Veil and that was the end of Lucius Malfoy.


	27. Follow Up

The same morning that Lucius met his end, Madam Pomfrey made a visit to Abbott Manor to give Harry his promised follow up after he'd been using his scar removing cream and Nutrient Potions for two weeks.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and heather were just finishing their breakfast of sausage, bacon, and ham burritos and Budweiser to wash it down with when Madam Pomfrey appeared.

"Good morning Mr. Potter, " said Madam Pomfrey pleasantly, "I am here to give you the follow up exam you are due."

"Very well then, let's get to it, " said Harry in a businesslike voice.

"Okay, Mr. Potter. the first thing you need to do is take off all your clothes so that I can examine your body for scars."

Harry did as he was told and Madam Pomfrey thoroughly examined every inch of Harry's body by hand as well performing spells with her wand that were meant to detect even the faintest scars.

"Mr. Potter, this is excellent, " said Madam Pomfrey with a genuine smile, "The scar removal cream did its job and did it perfectly. Both examination by hand and examination by wand have revealed that you now have only one scar left at all. That one scar is the lightning bolt scar that nothing can be done about. That part of things is now in order."

"So, I don't need any more scar removal cream then?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Not now, " said Madam Pomfrey happily, "However, I am going to give Heather a few tubes of scar removal cream to keep around the house just in case something comes up."

"That makes all the sense in the world, " said Heather approvingly, "Keeping basic medical supplies around the house is something we should all do."

"Exactly!" replied Madam Pomfrey.

"Before we move on, " said Harry to Madam Pomfrey, "I just want to take this moment to acknowledge Miss Amy Alworth for all the help she's given me through this process. It is Amy who was been applying my cream to me every night as several of my scars were in places too hard to reach by myself. And I wasn't always the easiest patient to deal with either. Because of my upbringing I am not comfortable with other people physically touching me and I can have mood swings as well. While I did get better at handling the physical touching as the days went on, I still hated it. But to her credit, no matter how jumpy or moody or cranky I got Amy was always completely patient with me and completely understanding and she never complained once even if I took my own frustrations out on her."

Now turning to look at Amy herself, Harry said, "Amy thank you. Thank for being there for me and taking care of me. Thank you for being patient and understanding. Thanks for everything. Amy, I've said this before, but it bears repeating; there's a difference between a buddy and a friend and you truly are a friend."

Amy felt a few tears of emotion run down her cheek as Harry acknowledged her and said chokily, "That means a lot Harry. There's no greater honor to me than to have my friendship qualities praised and I can't tell how means it to me to know how much I'm appreciated."

"Meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Susan or Hannah, but if I had to choose just one person to name as my BFF, I would name Amy, " said Harry genuinely.

"And rightfully so, " chorused Susan and Hannah.

"Very few people get out of tight corners alone, " said Madam Pomfrey, "But now I want to take another at your body, this time by eye rather hand, along with by wand."

Madam Pomfrey looked over every nanometer of Harry's body as thoroughly as she could before running her wand over it.

"Hmm, " said Madam Pomfrey, "Mr. Potter, you are making clear progress with the Nutrient Potion, but you aren't there yet. I am going to keep you on Nutrient Potion for two more weeks. Truthfully, you'd probably be all there today if I had put you on a twice a day dose these past two weeks. But I just don't like putting patients on any higher dose than once per day because overdosing on Nutrient Potion can lead to obesity. I want you to keep taking Nutrient Potion at dinner for two more weeks. I believe that if you do that, you will be all the way there in two more weeks."

"So, does that mean another follow up from you in two weeks?" asked Harry.

"Yes, " confirmed Madam Pomfrey, "And you must NOT skip any meals. You've gained some weight and you are healthier than you were. But you need to gain more weight and get heathier still. Remember that Nutrient Potion can only do its job if combined with eating three proper meals every day."

"I won't skip any meals and if I were retarded enough to try to, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather would make sure I didn't follow through, " piped up Harry.

"Good, " said Madam Pomfrey simply.

Before leaving, Madam Pomfrey gave Heather two tubes of scar removal cream to keep around the house and Harry two vials of Nutrient Potion to take over the next two weeks.

A nanosecond after Madam Pomfrey left, Heather received a letter from Amelia.

"Dear Heather:

Lucius has been convicted of being a Death Eater and sentenced to seven days of torture ending in death on the seventh day. With Snape and Lucius out of the picture, I believe Dumbledore should be our next target. However, it must be done quietly and carefully planned. Dumbledore has been lying low ever since Snape was taken care of and I believe he will continue to do so for a while longer. This may be our opportunity to get him, but it must be properly handled. I am going to start forming a game plan on how to go after Dumbledore and will put it into motion once I am comfortable with it

-Amelia."

"Lots of progress has been made on that front too, " said Heather, "I just Dumbledore gets what he has coming to him."


	28. A Lesson and A Capture

After reading Amelia's letter, Heather turned to Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah and said, "Today we are going to be incorporating two lessons into one. We are going to do a lesson that combines Charms with Care of Magical Creatures. I have made arrangements through Professor Sprout to borrow some magical creatures from Hogwarts so that the Yellow Quartet can have a Care of Magical Creatures lesson."

"So which magical creatures will we be learning about today?" asked Harry eagerly.

"Let me go retrieve them from my room and you'll see, " responded Heather with a smile.

Heather disappeared to her room for a few minutes and a few nanoseconds and returned with four brightly colored birds. One of the birds was yellow, one was orange, one was lime green, and one was pink. All four of the birds were singing and the sound of their song seemed to please the Yellow Quartet, who all smiled at the birds.

"Susan and Hannah?" said Heather, "Can you two tell Harry and Amy what species of birds these are?"

"Fwoopers!" chorused Susan and Hannah happily.

"Ooh, they're so pretty!" cooed Amy, "I love bright vivid colors!"

And remember that my wand's core is fwooper feather, " Susan reminded the others.

"Their song is beautiful too, " added Harry.

"Fwoopers are nice birds, " piped up Hannah, "But remember that listening to too much fwooper song can lead to insanity."

"I do remember Hannah telling us on the Hogwarts Express that fwoopers are sold with Silencing Charms applied to them and that fwooper owners are legally required to reapply the Silencing Charms monthly, " said Harry matter of factly.

"And that's today's lesson, " Heather informed them, "You will be applying Silencing Charms to the fwoopers. Now, some Charms, such as Color Change Charms, require you to create a strong mental image in your head for the Charms to work. But there are others that require a strong sense of desire instead and Silencing Charms require a strong sense of desire. To achieve a Silencing Charm, you must fill your mind with desire for the object, person, or creature in question to shut up. After filling your mind with this desire, point your wand at the object, person or creature in question and say the incantation "Silencio! Everyone understand?"

"Yes, " answered Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah simply.

"Then everyone pick a fwooper and let's get started, " said Heather brightly.

"I'm taking the yellow one, " said Harry at once as he picked up the yellow fwooper and set it down in front of him.

After that, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all gave each other looks that said quite plainly, "You can go before me if you'd like."

After a minute and a nanosecond of this, Heather decided to speed things up and said, "Amy, you pick next."

"I'll take orange since orange is the color of the Phoenix Suns, " said Amy cheerfully as placed the orange fwooper in front of her.

"You next, Susan, " called Heather.

"I like bright vivid colors, " said Susan warmly, "Which all four fwooper colors are. My favorite color is sky blue and that's obviously not an option here. But I'll take lime green. I really like lime green and to be honest, I'm not a huge pink fan."

"Nor am I, " exclaimed Harry and Amy.

"I on the other hand, like pink, " said Hannah briskly, "I guess it all works out."

Susan set the lime green fwooper in front of her while Hannah placed the pink fwooper in front of her.

"Go for it!" said Heather crisply.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all raised their wands and pointed them at their respective fwoopers.

"Silencio!" called Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

Harry's fwooper fell silent in a nanosecond. Amy's and Susan's fwoopers greatly reduced the volume of their singing. Hannah's fwooper, however, was still singing away as loudly as ever.

"Well done Harry!" said Heather, "Not many witches and wizards master Silencing Charms on their first attempt."

Without prompt, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all burst into a round of applause.

"Heather?" asked Harry, "Seeing as Amy and Susan both achieved some noise reduction with their Silencing Charms, will it now be easier for them to finish the job?"

"Yes, " answered Heather in a businesslike voice, "it is not uncommon for multiple rounds of Silencing Charms to be needed."

As if on cue, Amy and Susan pointed their wands at their fwoopers and said "Silencio!" a second time.

There was a further reduction in the amount song being emitted from Amy's and Susan's birds.

Amy and Susan kept repeating the spell until their fwoopers had gone completely silent. This proved to be five times.

"Good job, Amy and Susan, " said Heather encouragingly, "Hannah, please try again."

"I'm rubbish!" cried Hannah.

"No, you're not, " said Harry sharply, "You were the first one of us to master the Color Change Charm and you were the one who stopped us flying those dangerous school brooms. You've been a great contributor to our group. Besides, you WILL still get the Silencing Charm right. My guess is that you only said the incantation but didn't have the proper desire."

"I wanted my fwooper to go silent," protested Hannah.

"It's not enough to want it to go silent, " explained Harry calmly, "You've got to really FEEL the desire in your mind and heart for it to work. In fact, it's better to build up that desire within yourself before raising your wand."

"Harry gets it, " smiled Heather, "The thing is, Charms is much more of a mental subject than a physical one."

Hannah refocused herself and allowed desire for her fwooper to shut up to fill her up. She then pointed her wand at her fwooper and cried "Silencio!"

Hannah's fwooper now experienced a reduction in volume, a greater reduction than Amy and Susan had had on their first attempt. Eventually. despite the fact she had failed completely on her first try, she was fully successful on her fourth try as compared to Amy's and Susan's fifth.

"Great work all, " said Heather proudly when Amelia apparated in.

"Heather, " said Amelia urgently, "I've figured out a way to go after Dumbledore."

"Let's hear it then, " said Heather instantly.

"As you know, " began Amelia, "Dumbledore has outstanding hearing as well as the ability to magically enhance his senses. My invisibility cloak would be useless in going after Dumbledore because he would be able to hear me and sense me even if I wore it while approaching him. And if I did manage to catch him, well, Dumbledore is highly skilled at sudden and quick escapes. So, I had to reach down into my bag of tricks and bring out my Slytherin side a bit."

"So, what type of cunning do you have up your sleeve?" Heather asked Amelia.

"Well, " smirked Amelia, "You know how Dumbledore has like nine hundred octillion silver instruments."

"How could I forget?" said Heather wryly.

"Well, I purchased just one single silver instrument and turned it into a portkey. I then used a Banishing Charm to plant that portkey silver instrument in Dumbledore's office amongst all his silver instruments. It is inevitable that Dumbledore will touch or pick up the portkey at some point. When he does, he will be immediately transported to one of those Ministry holding cells that is warded against disapparation. I decided to use a portkey to take Dumbledore directly to a holding cell because it is very likely that he would escape from any arrest attempt, " explained Amelia.

"Ingenious!" said Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah in unison.

"But what if he escapes while being transferred from the holding cell to the courtroom?' asked Heather in concern.

"Don't think I haven't thought of that, " Amelia assured Heather.

"Then what is your plan for making sure that doesn't happen?" Heather grilled Amelia.

"I will stun Dumbledore before moving him. I will also bind him with immobility ropes before awakening him for his trial, " said Amelia calmly, "The immobility cords will both prevent Dumbledore from accessing his wand and from performing wandless magic that requires body movement."

""Well, you seem to have a finger on it, " Heather told Amelia approvingly, "You seem to have thought this out carefully and your plan makes sense."

Later that day, Dumbledore did indeed pick up the portkey that he didn't know had been planted in his office.

"FUCK! shouted Dumbledore when he saw where the portkey had taken him.

Dumbledore knew about the Ministry holding cells and their anti disapparation wards. He also knew that anyone who attempted to escape from these holding cells would be killed in the process without exception. Even he could not escape them.

For a few minutes Dumbledore really though he was cornered.

"OH!" realized Dumbledore after a few minutes, "They'll have to move me to take me to my trial and I can get away then.

So in between the day of his capture and his trial, Dumbledore was actually quite calm and comfortable, being sure he'd able to escape when being transferred to the courtroom for his trial.

"Then they'll know they can't mess with me, " thought Dumbledore to himself on more on than one occasion during this period.

But as she had planned, when the day of Dumbledore's trial came, Amelia stunned him from the outside without opening the cell door and bound him in immobility robes before moving him to the chair in the courtroom he would stand trial in. She fed him five drops of Veritasiurium before awakening him.

Yes, the moment had finally come for Dumbledore to stand trial.


	29. One Horcrux Down

The day before Dumbledore's trial, an unspeakable was at work in the Dark Magic Room in the Department of Mysteries.

All unspeakables were required to have attained at least forty years of age, to have never been employed outside of the Ministry of Magic after having attained the age of twenty one, and to have no criminal history.

Furthermore, unspeakables did not have to apply for their positions. They were chosen from existing Ministry employees. The pool of potential unspeakables was limited because they had to be both trustworthy enough to trust with secrecy and confidentiality but unimportant enough in their prior jobs to be replaceable. Those chosen for the position were free to turn it down, but it was rare for that to happen. The types of people who ended up being offered so jobs usually found it an honor to become an unspeakable.

The unspeakable at work on this day was a fifty year old tall bald black wizard named Steven Secret.

At Amelia's request, Steven was examining Tom Riddle's diary. Amelia had felt a nasty sense of foreboding about the diary ever since she'd raided it from Malfoy Manor, as though it felt inevitable some great darkness would come from it. Those feelings intensified when she'd heard Lucius say the diary could open the Chamber of Secrets. But even then, something kept nagging at the back of Amelia's mind. Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort's given name. Amelia knew Voldemort had made Horcruxes. She had a terrible feeling that only a Horcrux could be as capable of as much Dark Magic as this diary was said to be.

Amelia there asked Steven, an expert in Dark Magic with objects and artifacts, to examine it to see if it could possibly be aa Horcrux.

At first glance Steven could finding nothing suspicious about the book on the surface.

But the absolute quiet of rooms unspeakables were required to work in worked to Steven's advantage.

All rooms in the Department of Mysteries were bewitched with so strong Silencing Charms on their walls that a category five hurricane could be roaring just outside the rooms and anyone in the rooms would not hear it.

This silence gave Steven the absolute freedom both to think and to listen.

After a minute and a nanosecond, he could hear a feint sound emanating from the diary.

The noise sounded like a heartbeat. A low heartbeat, but a distinct heartbeat.

Was the diary alive? Or could did it at least have senses?

Steven puzzled over this for about five minutes when a thought occurred to him.

"This could be much more sinister, " thought Steven.

Steven knew that Tom Riddle went on to become Lord Voldemort. He also knew that Voldemort had made Horcruxes. Could this be one? He knew that Amelia suspected it was and that was why she had asked him to investigate it.

There was a simple way to find out. One of the most distinguishing attributes of Horcruxes was that they could not be destroyed by everyday magic.

Steven therefore pulled his wand out of his right hand pocket and pointed it at the diary.

"Reducto!" cried Steven.

But the diary was not reduced to dust. Instead, it split only in half and instantly repaired itself automatically.

Any ordinary object would have been reduced to dust upon meeting the Reductor Curse. Clearly, Tom Riddle's Diary was no ordinary object.

"This is a Horcrux, " realized Steven, "That's why it has a heartbeat, that's why it couldn't be destroyed by my Reductor Curse. That's why it could have been so powerful. Thank goodness Lucius never got around to executing his plan and the Chamber of Secrets was never opened. But...…

Steven retrieved a pen and a piece of paper from his left hand pocket and wrote.

"Amelia:

I have been able to conclude that Tom Riddle's Diary is a Horcrux. For many reasons, it is extremely dangerous if it is allowed to continue to exist. It would also be to our benefit for it to be destroyed before Voldemort has any chance to return. May I have permission to conjure Fiendfyre to destroy the Horcrux?"

Steven rolled the letter into a paper plane and sent it on its way.

A few minutes later, Amelia herself had appeared in the Dark Magic Room.

"Steven, " said Amelia in a serious and businesslike voice, "My worst fears about the diary have been confirmed. I will give you permission to use Fiendfyre to destroy Tom Riddle's diary, but I want to supervise you. Fiendfyre is extremely dangerous. I know you are willing to take the risk, but I believe the procedure should be supervised. Still, I suppose some danger will have to be taken to eliminate Voldemort's Horcruxes."

"Okay, " said Steven simply.

Steven raised his wand aloft and performed a nonverbal spell.

A nanosecond later, roaring flames taking the form of dragons, chimeras, manticores, orcs, and serpents appeared.

Without hesitation, Steven threw the diary into the flames and took several steps back.

Just as quickly, Steven performed the countercurse to extinguish the flames, one of the most difficult spells known to exist.

"Wow, " said Amelia, "Steven, you truly are a master wizard."

Looking down, both Amelia and Steven could see that the Fiendfyre had charred the diary.

As Steven went to pick it up, the remnants crumbled into pieces of ash, which Steven then removed via a Vanishing Charm.

"It's a great thing that diary has been destroyed before it could do anything, " said Amelia shakily, "We didn't dodge a bullet with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing, we dodged a bomb. But have the unspeakables deduced how many Horcruxes Voldemort made?"

"Our theory is that there were six, " explained Steven, "You've no doubt heard the legend of seven being the most powerfully magical number? Well, our theory is that Voldemort chose a seven part soul. That would require six Horcruxes."

"I strongly suspect you are right about that, " said Amelia hopefully.

"So?" asked Steven, "I know Dumbledore's trial is tomorrow. Can you tell me what charges he will face?"

"Gee, where to begin, " said Amelia wearily, "Theft, child abuse, child neglect, child endangerment, withholding of evidence, framing, manipulation, use of a position of power for personal gain, possession of dangerous creatures, possession of dark artifacts, violation of the ban on experimental breeding, and two biggies, aiding and abetting dark witches and wizards and deliberate neglect of the victims of dark witches and wizards."

"Man, what a rap sheet, " said Steven.

"Indeed, no witch or wizard has ever had a longer list of charges against them." said Amelia in a voice of resigned determination, "It's going to be a long day."


	30. Yellow Quartet's First Wandlore Lesson

Meanwhile, while Steven was destroying the diary horcrux, Heather was teaching Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah about Wandlore.

"The first thing I should tell you about Wandlore, " explained Heather, "Is that wands are absolutely dependent on their magical cores to work. Without their magical cores, wands would just be sticks of wood and would not allow wizards to channel their magic through them."

"I know that there is a such thing as wandless magic, " piped up Hannah, "Was there ever a time in wizarding history when witches and wizards just performed their magic naturally without the use of wands?"

"Yes, " answered Heather in a businesslike voice, "But that was a LONG time ago. Like over a millennium ago. The specific year or years when wands came into use is unknown. Wands were being using, but a very new thing, when Hogwarts opened. I assume you lot know who the four founders of Hogwarts are?"

"Yes," chorused Susan and Hannah while Harry and Amy chorused "No."

"Harry, Amy, " explained Susan patiently, "The four founders of Hogwarts were named Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin."

"So the houses are named after them?" guessed Harry a nanosecond later.

"Yes," replied Heather, "And Godric and Rowena both played roles in wands coming into wizarding life. There had always been occasional issues of witches and wizards getting carried away with or losing control of their magic. But around this time period, episodes of witches and wizards getting carried away with or losing control of their magic were becoming noticeably more common. There were many deaths caused by accidental magic at the time and the magical population was declining."

Harry looked suddenly uncomfortable.

"I know for a fact that I've performed some accidental magic in my time, " said Harry uneasily.

"All witches and wizards do when they are children, " revealed Heather patiently, "Accidental magic is much more dangerous when performed by adults or even teenagers than when it is performed by children because the magic of adult and even teenage witches and wizards is significantly more powerful than the magic of witches and wizards who are children."

Harry gave off a relieved expression.

Heather continued, "Rowena was the one who realized that witches and wizards would become an endangered species if the circumstance of witches and wizards getting carried away with or losing control of their magic was not controlled. She asked her three besties, Godric, Helga, and Salazar to think of ideas for tools that witches and wizards could control and channel their magic through while giving it some thought herself."

"Was Salazar actually really friends with the other three?" asked Hannah.

"In the beginning, yes," said Heather matter of factly, "He actually saw eye to eye with Godric, Helga, and Rowena on more than many people realize. However, the refusal of the other three, especially Godric, to limit Hogwarts to all magic families led to Salazar falling out with them and he left the school. No one knows what became of Salazar after that, but most magical historians believe he lived out his life as a loner angry at the world and his former friends. Godric remained close with Helga and Rowena for the rest of their lives although it has been said by some magical historians that Godric felt sad from a lack of male friends. But, back on topic, Helga suggested using gum wrappers because she knew that any tool to channel magic would have to be carried by hand and choose something she felt could easily and convinetly be carried by hand."

"Gum wrappers would be too brittle to make good magical instruments, " observed Amy, "Too easy to break, tear, destroy."

"That's what Rowena told Helga, " Heather went on, "Then Godric suggested using small strips of wood, which he had named wands. Rowena loved the idea the nanosecond Godric presented it. Remember that wands can easily be carried in pockets too."

"And wands have been used ever since?" asked Harry.

"Yes, " answered Heather, "And the introduction of wands into wizarding culture was a smashing success as the death rate from witches and wizards killing themselves and each other due to getting carried away with or losing control of their magic declined dramatically after that. There's no question that the advent of wands made the magical world a much safer place for witches and wizards by allowing them to channel and control their magic."

"How many magical creatures provide wand cores?" inquired Amy curiously.

"Infinitely many, " responded Heather, "But it tends to vary by wandmaker and by region. Unicorn hair is the most common wand core worldwide while phoenix feather is the most common wand core in the United Kingdom."

"What about the United States?' demanded Amy, "I'm Arizonan, remember, I got shortlisted for Hogwarts because there are no wizarding schools in Arizona, though Heather clearly did the right thing in pulling us,. But I'm just curious about my original country."

"That's completely understandable, " smiled Heather, "The most common wand core in the United States is kneazle hair. kneazles are a kind of magical cat known to be very intelligent with a inane ability to know who to trust and who not to trust. Kneazles are popular pets around the world but are very common in the United States."

"Heather, " piped up Harry "Olivander told me that the wand choose the wizard and that you will never get such good results from another wizard's wand. Can a witch or wizard use a wand that hasn't chosen him or her?"

"Sure, " said Heather in a voice that lacked conviction, "If you have any magic in you then you can use any tool to channel it. But the BEST results must always come from a wand that has chosen you."

"It would seem to me, " said Harry clearly, "That this would be particularly important for witches and wizards who are learning magic. Do you know if any Hogwarts students are currently using second hand wands?"

"Well, that should never happen, " said Heather firmly, "Once Dumbledore's trial is over I'll have Amelia look into this and if the answer is yes then the issue will be addressed. Students can't do their best if they don't have the right tools."

"Does wand length matter?" wondered Amy aloud.

"Yes, " Heather informed them, "Longer wands are more powerful. This is most important in Transfiguration, as Transfiguration is the magical art that requires that strongest magical power to perform. The shortest wands known to exist are six inches and the longest wand known to exist is twenty one inches. It is rare for wands to be over sixteen inches though. Generally speaking, witches and wizards who are good at Transfiguration use wands at least ten inches in length. Longer wands are more powerful because magic is channeled through every part of a wand. So, the more of a wand there is, the more power it has."

"Do the unique magical wand cores tend to choose specific types of witches and wizards?" piped up Harry, who strongly suspected the answer would be yes.

"In general, yes, " confirmed Heather, "But it's not a be all end all. There are exceptions to these general rules. By and large though, amongst the British big three, unicorn hair wands tend to choose pure hearted witches and wizards, phoenix feather wands tend to choose fierce and fiery witches and wizards, and dragon heartstring wands tend to choose bold and daring witches and wizards. Kneazle hair wands tend to choose witches and wizards that are always on their guard. I don't know about some of the less common cores though. There aren't enough fwooper feather or niffler hair wands in existence to pick up on any potential patterns."

"Do the woods wands are made from matter?" inquired Amy.

"In reality, generally not, " explained Heather, "But there are myths out there. There are sayings such as "Wands of elder never prosper and if her wand is cherry and his is holly then to marry would be folly. When Voldemort rose to power, yew wands took on a really bad reputation that still lingers to this day. But the type of wood doesn't matter all that much. There are a few exceptions to this that you will learn about in time. I think that's enough for this lesson. There a few finer points of wandlore that I will be teaching you about in a future lesson but I think you've had a good beginner's crash course."


	31. Dumbledore's Trial Part 1

The atmosphere inside Abbott Manor on the morning of Dumbledore's trial was extremely tense.

Heather knew that Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah would not be able to concentrate on lessons on this day, so she set up a radio for them to listen in on Dumbledore's trial via the Wizarding Wireless Network.

They managed to tune in just in time to hear Amelia questioning Dumbledore.

"What influence have you had over Harry Potter's life?"

"I wish to raise Harry to fight Lord Voldemort. My expectation is that he will eventually walk into a fight with Voldemort and be killed by Voldemort, eliminating the greatest threat to Voldemort." answered Dumbledore.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather realized that Dumbledore was under the influence of truth serum and that he was going to spill everything.

"How did you plan on molding the boy?" Amelia grilled Dumbledore.

"First, I placed him in care of his harsh Uncle Vernon Dursley and his wife, Petunia. I knew that Vernon hated magic and would treat Harry with cruelty. I told Petunia that she should go along with any hard or harsh treatment on Harry that Vernon wished to impose. As Petunia has to conform to Vernon's wishes to keep her marriage together anyway, this was an easy sell. Petunia already knew about the tendencies of young witches and wizards to perform accidental magic. I told her that she and Vernon should punish Harry harshly anytime he displayed accidental magic. The idea behind this was that I would gain his trust when he found his Hogwarts life far better and happier than his home life." spilled Dumbledore.

"Petunia is Lily's sister, " said Amelia matter of factly, "Would Lily have approved of Petunia and her husband raising Harry?"

"No, " said Dumbledore firmly, "James and Lily wrote it into their wills that under NO circumstances was Harry to be placed with Vernon and Petunia. They even went as far as writing into the will that they would rather Harry grow up in an orphanage or live at a school year round than have him raised by Vernon and Petunia. Their preference for Harry's guardian should anything happen to them was Sirius Black, followed by Remus Lupin, then Amelia Bones, and then Heather Abbott. Though James and Lily were on excellent terms with Hagrid, they preferred he not be the person to raise Harry because they didn't feel he was responsible enough to raise a child. But they were clear that under NO circumstances were McGonagall, Snape, me, or Vernon and Petunia to have anything to do with raising Harry. I destroyed the will using Fiendfyre before they died."

"You knew they were going to die?" Amelia asked Dumbledore suspiciously.

"I put the Imperius Curse on Sirius Black to make him change the Potter's secret keeper to Peter Pettigrew, who I knew was now a Death Eater. After Pettigrew told Voldemort where the Potters were, I knew Lily would sacrifice herself for her son and that the resultant magic would rebound against Voldemort. I gave evidence against Sirius Black. I believed a temporary loss of power for the Dark Lord would benefit him in the future." leaked Dumbledore.

"So, Sirius Black is innocent?" screeched a startled Amelia.

"Yes, " admitted Dumbledore.

"That's another thing this court will have to address. But why did you think Voldemort would benefit from a temporary loss of power?" questioned Amelia.

"People would either believe he was dead, or he would slowly fade from conscienceless. This reality has actually given the Dark Lord the ability to plan and prepare in secret what he wants to do when he returns. The Dark Lord was initially displeased that I set it up for him to lose his powers, but he now understands how much these down years are going to help him in the long run." finished Dumbledore confidently.

"What did you intend life at Hogwarts to like for Harry?" inquired Amelia.

"I wanted him to be happy but tested while at school, " explained Dumbledore, "To test his skill. resolve, and determination, I had a series of obstacles set up guarding a Sorcerer's Stone I had hidden in Hogwarts that I intended Harry to beat. Unfortunately, Flamel learned of my plans and removed his Sorcerer's Stone from Hogwarts and is now looking after it himself. When Harry learned Voldemort had killed his mom and dad, I intended him to want to stop Lord Voldemort at all costs. I arranged to have Professor Quirrell attempt to steal the stone for Harry to thwart him to discover Voldemort was the one who was really after the stone. I intended for Quirrell to be sharing his body with Lord Voldemort by this time. My intent was Harry would thwart the attempt to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and become more determined to defeat the Dark Lord in the process. I had not yet informed Voldemort of this, but my plan was to bring him back at the end of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts."

"You have publicly opposed Lord Voldemort in the past, " piped up Amelia.

"To avoid suspicion, " said Dumbledore calmly, "I knew that Lord Voldemort had horcruxes and could not truly be killed. When I learned of the prophecy between the Dark Lord and Harry Potter, I decided that it would be good for Voldemort to vanish for a while and believed if I could mold Harry to want to fight Voldemort, then Voldemort would kill Harry in battle, the light would give up, I would become the Dark Lord's most faithful servant, and get the power and glory that came with it, and the Dark Lord and I could use our power and our magic to shape the world the way we wanted for who we wanted."

"Is it true, " asked Amelia sharply, "That you told students that, "The third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death?"

"Yes, " confirmed Dumbledore, "But my real intent was to pique Harry's curiosity. You open the door with Alohomora and then you come across an obstacle course consisting of a three headed dog, devil's snare, winged keys, a troll, a live chess game, and a potions riddle."

"So, by using the first year unlocking spell students would come face to face with a three headed dog?" said Amelia coldly, "Every student at the school was in danger and you piqued all of their curiosity. You know the curious and rebellious nature of many kids and teens."

"As long Harry got his test, I didn't care what happened to anyone else, " said Dumbledore tonelessly.

"Also, why are there dangerous creatures in the forest at Hogwarts?" asked Amelia.

"Most of them were already there before I got to Hogwarts, " answered Dumbledore truthfully.

"Did you allowing bullying at Hogwarts to go unpunished?" inquired Amelia.

"I rarely get involved with student discipline, that's up to the heads of house, " replied Dumbledore.

"That's another matter for another time, " said Amelia frostily, "Hogwarts whole way of doing things is going to receive a though review. But I take it you supported Snape to give him cover until Voldemort returned."

"Yes, " confirmed Dumbledore."

"Does Hogwarts staff trust you?" grilled Amelia.

"Snape, McGonagall, and Quirrell do. I don't know about the others, " responded Dumbledore.

Amelia gave a thoughtful look as though filing the information away.

Next nanosecond, a bell rang.

"Lunch break, " called Amelia. She stunned Dumbledore to ensure he could not possibly escape while they were at lunch.

Meanwhile, back at Abbott Manor, Harry was fuming.

"Fuck the manipulative old bastard! That fucking asshole DESTROYED my childhood!"

Heather did not approve of profanity, but said nothing on this occasion, realizing that Harry needed to be allowed to let his emotion out.

Once Harry had calmed down, Heather called on Topsy and she brought them an excellent lunch of spaghetti with tomato sauce and hamburger meat mixed in, a side of breadsticks, and Jack Daniels to wash it down with.

As Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather chowed down on their spaghetti and breadsticks and gulped down their Jack Daniels, Harry asked Heather a question.

"Did my mom and dad believe that I would become friends with Susan and Hannah?'

"I don't know if they believed it, but they desired it, " explained Heather, "Sirius never wanted to have kids and Remus believed he could not have kids. James and Lily knew that Susan and Hannah were your age and hoped they could provide you with friendship and companionship as you grew up. "

"Would it be fair to say that the friendships I now have with Susan and Hannah are a fulfilment of my mom's and dad's wishes?" asked Harry in a businesslike voice.

"On some level, yes, " said Heather, "But they were more concerned that you had some friends of your age to grow up with. I can't say they cared specifically who those friends were as long as they were decent people."

A few minutes after lunch was gone, a bell came over the radio and they knew Dumbledore's trial was about to continue.


	32. What Happens Next?

After lunch, Amelia woke Dumbledore and continued her questioning.

"You said Snape, Quirrell, and McGonagall trust you. Why?"

"McGonagall trusts my reputation blindly, " revealed Dumbledore, "She has no idea what I'm really up to, so she thinks I'm the white champion of the light. She isn't hugely important to my plans, but her status as a passive woman has been invaluable to me at Hogwarts."

"Passive woman?" repeated Amelia, not quite understanding.

"She keeps her nose out of things, " explained Dumbledore, "I made her head of Gryffindor because I know that if any Gryffindor students suspicious behavior to her, she will just tell them to mind their own business and keep their noses out of things that don't concern them. I also know that she won't stick up them against the Slytherins, or anyone. That means my Slytherins don't have to worry about getting in trouble. They can do what they want to the Gryffindors and McGonagall won't interfere. McGonagall is mostly a do nothing woman and it benefits me to have a do nothing woman as head of Gryffindor. "

"What about the Slytherins own of head of house, Snape?" grilled Amelia.

"They know that Snape won't stop from bullying or being mean to students in other houses, " spilled Dumbledore, "He actually tells all the first year Slytherins in their common room every September 1st that they can do what they want and he won't punish them. Draco Malfoy in particular has enjoyed bully privileges both because Snape isn't going reprimand Slytherins for their actions and McGonagall isn't going to fight on Gryffindor's behalf. Snape has mysteriously disappeared from Hogwarts though. I suspect he has traveled abroad to learn more variations of Dark Arts. Snape will actually secretly teach some Slytherins, especially those fourteen and older, some Dark Arts. It's best if Voldemort's future supporters graduate already knowing some Dark Arts. I know that I'd lose my job as headmaster in a nanosecond if the Ministry found out that a Dark Arts course was offered at Hogwarts, so I have Snape do it for the Slytherins in secret instead. I also try to preach forgiveness to non-Slytherins, The Gryffindors are often too scared to stick up for themselves, especially since many of them realize that Minerva doesn't have their back."

"You are wrong, " retorted Amelia, allowing herself at grin at Dumbledore's expense, "Severus Snape was retried as a Death Eater and sent through the Death veil."

Dumbledore screamed as a shocked look came upon his face. Amelia could tell the loss of Snape was a big blow.

"We know exactly took place in Snape's class- began Amelia.

But at that precise nanosecond, the immobility cords binding Dumbledore began break. In fact, they were disintegrating as though being eaten away by acid.

Once they wore gone, there was a long loud POP and there was no Dumbledore.

"HE GOT AWAY!" screamed Amelia!

Back at Abbott Manor, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all wore long downcast looks, they felt as though this was the one chance to get Dumbledore dealt with and now that seemed lost.

"He disapparated, " said Heather calmly, "Even if there were anti disapparation wards on the courtroom, Dumbledore has powerful enough to cancel them."

"But how-" began Harry.

"SHH!" said Heather urgently.

"But, " a bewildered Patrick Patil was saying, "The cords?" Why did the cords just vanish like that."?

"They didn't just vanish, " corrected Patricia Patil, "They disintegrated. it looked as though acid was eating away at them."

"We do not know how Dumbledore managed that, " said Amelia bitterly, "He's clever and cunning enough to outsmart us. He must have done something to the cords that we would no way of finding out about it. And the timing seems intentional too. "

As an eerie silence filled the room, Amelia told them, "I do have ways of tracking where he went though. "

"He'll just escape again, " said Augusta Longbottom bitterly.

"We can't let him go free, " said Amelia, "If we are able to track and capture him, he may be greatly weakened by then. He never got an antidote to the Veritasiurium. One of the side effects of Veritasiurium is that if it left on too long, it greatly weakens a witch's or wizard's magic. This only takes a few days to become severe. Bear in mind that Veritasiurium also weakens the bodies of both muggles and wizards if left on too long. My plan now is to track him but wait a few days before going to recapture him. This short wait will both make him easier to recapture and remove his ability to escape again. Bear in mind that he doesn't know he's under the influence of Veritasiurium. That aspect of Veritasiurium is unovercomeable even for wizards like Grindewald, Voldemort, and Dumbledore. It is literally impossible to resist Veritasiurium once it has been administered."

"Everyone Amelia just told the Wizengamot is true, " Heather informed Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "Despite the escape, we have Dumbledore right where we want him. In fact, the escape is going to work to our advantage."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah just looked at each other and Heather unsure of what to say or think.


	33. Another Horcrux goes

While waiting for the right time to recapture Dumbledore, Amelia called the unspeakable Steven Secret into her office.

"Steven, " said Amelia seriously, "I need you to come with me to Hogwarts?"

"What's up?" inquired Steven.

"I have a suspicion, " explained Amelia, "Ever since you destroyed the diary Horcrux, I've been thinking about where the other Horcruxes might be. I know that Voldemort would have keep them hidden and I know part of his strategy would have been to keep all of them in separate locations with those locations being reasonably spread apart. You know about the Room of Requirement I presume?"

"Yes, " confirmed Steven, "Ohhh. I know what you're on about. One of the things that Room of Requirement can do is become the Room of Hidden Things. You suspect Voldemort may have hidden a Horcrux in the Room of Hidden Things. "

"Yes, " said Amelia in a businesslike voice, "And given his arrogance and pride, it wouldn't surprise me if Voldemort found the Room of Requirement, including its ability to become the Room of Hidden Things and believed or even assumed he would be the only one to ever find it."

"That makes all the sense in the world, " agreed Steven.

"Take my right arm, " Amelia told Steven, "I'm going to take us the area just outside the Room of Requirement via side along apparition. I know you know how to apparate on your own, but I want to make sure we arrive at the same nanosecond."

Steven did aa he was told and grabbed Amelia's right arm and she apparated them to the area just outside the Room of Requirement.

"Become the Room of Hidden Things but with complete silence and only us allowed in, " Amelia thought to herself three times.

Sure enough, the Room of Hidden Things appeared and once they were inside it was absolutely quiet.

"Steven, " said Amelia clearly, "I want you to search this room and listen closely for any sound of that heartbeat you heard from the diary. "

Amelia then fell silent and Steven started to walk around the room slowly and carefully, listening for that dreaded heartbeat.

This process took a very long time. How long, neither of the knew. Steven slowly walked around the room from front to back listening as intently as he could every nanosecond.

He passed various objects that could plausibly have belonged to Hogwarts students and that they could have plausibly wanted to hide: books on dark magic, banned love potions, objects that no doubt were being hidden from Filch, posters and magazines talking about or depicting vices such as sex and sexuality, and even some cheat sheets undoubtedly being hidden from teachers and staff.

For the longest time it almost felt like a lost cause. Steven went on and on and heard nothing. But as he reached the very back of the Room of Hidden Things, he heard that dreaded heartbeat.

Listening closely, Steven could hear that the terrifying sound was actually coming a diadem.

"AMELIA! I'VE FOUND ONE AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM!" screamed Steven.

Amelia zoomed to the back of the room faster than a cheetah chasing its prey.

Steven picked up the diadem and showed it to Amelia.

Now listening very carefully herself, Amelia could hear that horrible heartbeat. And then she was struck with a sudden pang of sadness.

"This, " realized Amelia, "Is the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, "

"Of course, " it now dawned on Steven, "Voldemort would have wanted to use objects of significance for his horcruxes. No way he'd use an empty Skittles bag or something like that."

"I'm heartbroken, " confessed Amelia, "We've just uncovered an artifact of one of the greatest witches of all time, one of the Hogwarts founders, an object that has become almost mythical over time and now that we've found it we have no choice to destroy it."

""We've got to do what we've got to do, " replied Steven mechanically.

Locked in the room by themselves with no threat of others getting in, Amelia asked out loud three times "Give us a safe way to destroy the diadem horcrux, "

A small bowl of Fiendfyre appeared on a table in the middle of the room. The fire was clearly contained to the bowl and showed no sign of spreading.

Steven calmly walked over to the bowl and dripped the diadem in. The diadem was soon charred black and collapsed into nothing. The nanosecond the horcrux was gone, the fire extinguished itself.

"The Room of Requirement can always give you EXACTLY what you want, " smiled Amelia, "By asking for a way to destroy to destroy the horcrux, it gave us the Fiendfyre, By adding the word safe, I ensured the fire would be contained and safe to use."

"And extinguish itself after it did its job so it could do nothing more, " added Steven.

"Yep, " said Amelia.

When they got again, Steven and Amelia were surprised it was only 10:30 A.M. Though it felt like much longer, it had only taken a couple of hours.

Amelia wrote to Heather to tell her about the diadem being destroyed and Heather happily passed the news on to harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"We're going to have Voldemort right where we want him if he ever does manage to come back, " smirked Harry.


	34. Patronus Lesson

At the same time Steven and Amelia were destroying the diadem horcrux, Heather was teaching the Yellow Quartet a Defense the Dark Arts lesson.

"Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, " said Heather seriously, "The spell I'm going to be teaching you today has a reputation as complex and difficult magic, but it really isn't. It is a protective spell known as the Patronus Charm."

"Aunt Amelia always told me that the Talking Patronus Charm IS complex and difficult magic but that the regular Patronus Charm was of average difficulty at worst, " piped up Susan.

"Mom always told me the same thing, " added Hannah.

"Then, does the existence of the Talking Patronus Charm that is complex and difficult cause confusion that leads people to believe that the regular Patronus Charm is complex and difficult when it really isn't?" inquired Amy.

"That plays a factor, " acknowledged Heather, "But the real problem is that Dumbledore and Snape have spent decades spreading the word about how hopelessly impossible the Patronus Charm is to discourage people from learning."

"In other words, " realized Harry, "It was another ploy by Dumbledore and Snape to prevent innocent witches and wizards from protecting themselves against dark forces."

"That is true, " confirmed Heather, "But the protection that the Patronus Charm provides is not protection against Death Eaters or dark wizards, but dark creatures, especially dementors."

"What are dementors?" chorused Harry and Amy as Susan and Hannah shuddered.

"Dementors, " said Heather slowly, making no effort to hide the uneasiness in her voice, "Are black hooded features that resemble cloaks. They are blind and have no eyes. They move by gliding while giving off breath that emits a creepy rattling sound. Dementors fill the area around them with cold and hopelessness and they force people who get too near them to relive their worst memories."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all gave involutory flinches.

"Can dementors kill?" asked Harry.

"They do much worse than kill, " said Heather with a shiver, "When at their foulest state, dementors pull back their hoods and suck their victim's souls out through their mouths. This is called the Dementor's Kiss. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no... anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just — exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost."

"Where are dementors most plentiful?" asked Amy curiously.

"The largest congregation of dementors guards the wizard prison Azkaban, " answered Heather.

"That is very dangerous, " said Harry sharply, "Creatures like that can't be trusted. If Voldemort ever returns, he could easily persuade these dementors to join him and even if he never does, there's bound to be some dark witch or wizard who could. Such creatures would have no loyalty and would not hesitate to turn for the right offer."

"You are right about this, " said Heather fretfully, "But Fudge has long insisted on keeping the dementors even claiming that he only feels safe in his bed at night because he knows the dementors are guarding Azkaban. Amelia You are right to knows about this and agrees, but even as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she does not have the power to overrule the Minister of Magic. That's actually one of the reasons I want you lot taught the Patronus Charm. I fear the possibility of having to deal with out of control dementors."

"So, what is the Patronus Charm?" asked Harry in a businesslike voice.

"It acts as a guardian with the dementor feeding on it instead of you. If it strong enough, it will drive the dementors away. You know that a Patronus Charm is strong if there is a clearly defined shape and form and not just some vapor. This strong Patronus Charm is called a Corpreal Patronus."

"So how did you produce a Patronus Charm?" piped up Amy eagerly.

"You must focus on a powerful happy memory and speak the incantation "Expecto Patronum!"

Harry focused his mind on the night of the Welcoming Feast when the Yellow Quartet was officially formed.

Amy focused her mind clearly on the day harry had gotten his follow up exam from Madam Pomfrey and how Harry had expressed such appreciation to her for the help she given him when he was dealing with the scar removal process and how much that acknowledgement had meant to her.

Susan and Hannah both concentrated as hard as they could on the memory of the day, they had met each other when they were both just babies.

All four of them raised their wands and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

Next nanosecond, a silver stag erupted from Harry's wan, a silver cat emitted itself from Amy's wand, a silver fwooper came out of Susan's wand, and a silver phoenix protruded from Hannah's wand.

"Well done all, " said Heather happily, "Dementors will not be long for here if they ever turn up while we are here.

"I was thinking of the day the Yellow Quartet was officially formed, " revealed Harry.

"I thought about how much appreciation Harry showed towards me for caring for him during the whole scar removal process. when Madam Pomfrey gave him his follow up exam, " said Amy emotionally.

"And let me guess, " beamed Heather, "Susan and Hannah, you two were both thinking of the day you met each other as babies."

"Yes!" confirmed Susan and Hannah proudly.

"All powerful memories and clearly competent witches and wizards CAN perform the regular Patronus Charm even at a young age, " said Heather clearly, "But, Harry, there's something you should know. James's Patronus was also a stag.

"Really?" asked Harry quietly.

"Really!" said Heather with a smile.

Harry felt tears of emotion starting to form in his eyes and running down his cheeks at the watershed moment.

Harry had discovered a piece of his father within himself.


	35. Danger Destroyed

On Wednesday, September 25th, 1991, Amelia was sitting in her office contemplating when to recapture Dumbledore and finish his trial.

She had just come to the decision the next morning would be the optimum time to do so when she heard a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" asked Amelia apprehensively.

"Steven Secret, " answered the voice on the other side of the door.

"Okay, come on in then, " said a relived sounding Amelia.

Steven entered Amelia's office wearing what looked like a gold hourglass hanging from a necklace.

"Amelia, " said Steven eagerly, "There may be a way we can actually undo all the damage that was done by Dumbledore, Voldemort, Snape etc. You see, the hourglass on my necklace is called a time turner and it can take you back in time so you can do hours over. Right now, time turners can only take you back for a few hours. However, with some research and development I believe time turners that go back years can be created."

"NO!' shouted Amelia in a deliberately loud voice, "That would be EXTREMELY dangerous!"

"Wouldn't you want to undo the damage people like Dumbledore have done?" repeated Steven.

"It's WAY too dangerous, " said Amelia in a firm and decisive voice, "Think about the potential unintended consequences that could occur from an unintended butterfly effect. Also, you would be putting many people past and present in immense danger by messing around with time. You could potentially create a vortex where people the past would be pulled into today and people from today would be sent way into the past. These victims might be totally incapable of coping with a life in a time other than their own. Not to mention the potential of permanently broken families. There's no guarantee that you wouldn't change a significant historical event. Such a change could destroy the whole world if it went terribly wrong. And holistically there's no telling what might happen if magic was mixed with time travel. It's too dangerous, period. The answer is NO Steven."

"But what about-" began Steven.

"We've convicted Snape and Lucius and Dumbledore will be convicted tomorrow. We can't change the past. All we can do now is make sure they don't do any more damage and that appropriate changes are made to the magical world at the present time, " answered Amelia, "I'm NOT taking that risk, Period. But how did you get that time turner?"

"There's a stock in the Department of Mysteries, " explained Steven, ""But because the ones we have now can only go back a few hours, the only practical use they have ever seen is to allow students to redo hours at Hogwarts so that they can have fuller class schedules."

"How many students have actually done that?" screeched an alarmed sounding Amelia.

"Only a small handful and never more than one in one year. The heads of house all know about the time turners though, McGonagall has occasionally approved of one of her students using a time turner to take more classes. Flitwick and Sprout have never allowed it though. If one of their students attempts to sign up for a class load that would require it, they work with the student to come to an agreement on what they see as a more reasonable course schedule. McGonagall, though you have to be one of her favorites to get the approval, has occasionally given it under the concept of wanting students to reach their full potential, " explained Steven.

"No student could ever reach his or her full potential with a course schedule so full that it requires redoing hours. The stress, strain, and fatigue would make this impossible. Unless the student was also using the time turner to get extra sleep, " replied Amelia instantly.

"That's not allowed. Students use of time tuners is required to be limited to getting to lessons, " revealed Steven.

"So, the use of a time turner could never be good for a student then, " concluded Amelia, "And even if it could be, it's not worth the danger. Allowing even one student to possess a time turner puts EVERY student at Hogwarts in grave danger. What if the student using the time turner saw his or her past or future self? What if other students saw the past and future student? I shudder at the possibilities. "

There was a minute and a nanosecond of silence and then-'

"That's it, " said Amelia in a no nonsense kind of voice and she marched directly to the Department of Mysteries where sure enough she saw shelves full of time turners.

"Back off, " said Amelia warningly to Steven, who had followed her. Steven took several steps back.

Amelia raised her own wand and pointed it at the shelves with the time turners.

"REDUCTO!" cried Amelia vigorously.

Next nanosecond, every time turner on the Ministry shelves was smashed to bits then reduced to dust, which Amelia removed with a Vanishing Spell.

"Do you want to destroy this one too then?" Steven asked Amelia, pointing at the time turner he was still wearing.

"Oh, yes, " said Amelia instantly, and Steven took the time turner off and gave it to Amelia, who promptly destroyed it as well.

"There are no more time turners, " said a relived sounding Amelia, "Steven, I see where you were coming from, but messing with time is NEVER worth the danger. Now tomorrow we'll get Dumbledore taken care of."

A/N: I sometimes hear/read people say things like "Why couldn't they have used a time turner to save Cedric/Sirius/James and Lily etc. However, I myself am 1000% against any use of time turners as I just believe any meddling with time would be too inheritably dangerous. Also. time travel is problematic from a literary point of view because if you actually have time travel because if you leave aside the danger issue, then time travel would make it too easy to set everything right and no one would have to cope with anything. I view time travel as implausible and problematic from a literary point of view and incomprehensibly dangerous from a practical point of view.


	36. Heather's New School

At the same time Amelia was putting an end to time turners, Heather was having a serious conversation with Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, " said Heather clearly, "I have some BIG news. First, I know this part won't surprise any of you, but even if Dumbledore is convicted as expected tomorrow, and even if improvements are made at Hogwarts, after everything that has happened, I have too many bitter feelings towards that place to be willing to send you back."

"I always suspected that would be the case, " piped Harry a nanosecond later, "Plus, you'd never be able to trust the place."

"Exactly, " confirmed Heather.

"That doesn't sound like big news, " said Amy simply, "It sounds like you've decided to homeschool us for all seven years."

"I seriously considered that, but decided against it, " acknowledged Heather, "But the big news is that I am starting a school of my own that uses a September 1st yearly start date starting next September 1st and runs concurrent to Hogwarts. The Abbotts are implausibly wealthy family and I am using some of that money to found my own school. I have already made some plans for this school of course, but I would like to allow you four to offer some input for ideas for the new school seeing as you will be four of my first students. I will have the final say as I will be the first headmistress of the new school, but I think it's worthwhile to listen to your ideas."

"Well, " said Harry firmly, "I think it's been established that amongst the heads of house at Hogwarts, Snape was a bully, McGonagall was useless, and Sprout and Flitwick were wonderful people who made excellent heads of house. My suggestion though is that the heads of house at the new school should not be teachers but should be adults specifically hired to be there for the students in that house."

"That won't be necessary," smiled Heather, "Because there won't be a house system at my new school. Say what you want about houses being traditional and all that, but the fact remains that the existence of a house system at Hogwarts and other similar schools causes unnecessary friction, tension, and division between the students. I want my new school to develop a culture of acceptance, friendship, and cooperation and any kind of house system is incompatible with that vision."

"I like the idea, " said Harry happily, "Eliminates a labeling process right from the start and the absence of houses should mean a significant reduction of interstudent rivalry."

"That's the idea, " said Heather crisply.

"During the oh so brief time we were at Hogwarts, " said Amy matter of factly, "One of the things I appreciated about being in Hufflepuff was that Hufflepuffs got their own dorm rooms. I strongly urge you to give students at the new school their own dorm rooms."

"I've already decided that students at my new school will be given their own dorm rooms, " replied Heather, giving Amy an approving nod, "I know for a fact that I would never be able to sleep at all if I didn't have my own bedroom."

"Too true!" chorused Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah at once.

"I would find the idea of my room not being my own space pretty repugnant and repulsive, " said Amy fiercely.

"Hear hear!" agreed Harry, Susan, and Hannah.

"Now, " offered Susan, "Have you given any thought to the teacher qualification process?"

"My intent is to require all prospective teachers to pass a rigorous N.E.W.T. level exam with a grade of O in the subject they wish to teach before they may be hired, " explained Heather.

"That's fair and reasonable and it would weed out the Quirrells of the world, " said Susan in a businesslike voice, "But I suggest that teachers should have to requalify for their posts every year both to jettison complacency in teachers as well to identify older teachers whose best years are behind them."

"That's an excellent suggestion, Susan, " said Heather crisply, "It would allow me to go into every new school year knowing my teachers were all competent. "

"A fund should be set to ensure that all students who come to this new school have firsthand wands, " added Hannah, "I know that at Hogwarts some students were using second hand wands because their parents couldn't afford new ones. But remember that "The wand chooses the wizard" and "You will never get such good results from another's wand" A wand is a vital magical tool and financial hardship shouldn't deprive magical students of this basic necessity."

"God, why didn't I think of that myself, " said Heather, shaking her head, "That is absolutely something that should and will be done."

There was a minute and a nanosecond of silence before Heather spoke again.

"Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, " said Heather nervously, "I have something I want you four to do at my new school. I know you're hardworking students who will thrive academically at my new school. But I want each of you to join one of the school clubs that I will be setting up. You will receive more information about what types of student clubs will be available when the opening of my new school draws nearer."

"Well, " said Harry eagerly, "Amy, Susan, Hannah, the four of us will have to get together and discuss and decide as a group which club, we want to join."

"No, " said Heather clearly, "I want each of you to join a different club."

"NO! screamed Harry, who burst into tears at once, "DON'T BREAK UP THE YELLOW QUARTET!"

After about a minute of crying and fuming, Harry walked straight up to Amy, Susan, and Hannah and gave each of them bone crushing hugs.

"Amy, Susan, Hannah, " declared Harry vehemently, " I will NEVER abandon you and that's a promise!"

"Harry, it's okay, " said Heather in a soothing voice after Harry had calmed down, "It is NOT my intent to break up the Yellow Quartet. I expect you four to still be BFFs and to still spend time together every day. But I want each of you to expand your circles and widen your horizons Yes, if you all joined the same club, you'd still make new friends there. But I want each of you to gain some unique experiences and unique friendships apart from each other. You can still be the Yellow Quartet without having a monopoly on each other's time."

After a short pause, Heather continued, "The very reason I rejected the idea of homeschool you for seven years is the antisocial nature of home schooling. Yes, you all have each other for friends and company and it's not as antisocial as it would be with just one of you, but I just think the best and most useful experience comes from being part of a world with numerous and varied people. BFFs are awesome, but it's very important that you don't become SO clingy that you become uncomfortable with or rejecting of other people. The healthiest thing of all would be for the Yellow Quartet to continue being the Yellow Quartet while simultaneously developing individual interests and friendships apart from each other and having each of you join a separate school club will enable that to happen."

"I'd be lonely if I weren't in the company of Amy, Susan, and Hannah, " said Harry tonelessly, "Besides, making other friends would be a betrayal of Amy, Susan, and Hannah after how much they've done for me and how much they've been there for me."

"That's exactly the mentally I want to stamp out of you, " said Heather in a no nonsense voice, "Again, Amy, Susan, and Hannah WILL still be your BFFs. But it is not wrong, in fact, it will be good for you, to do some things without them and to spend some time away from them. The Yellow Quartet will still be able to eat meals together and spend time together, but you all need world expansion and that includes each of you having some more unique friendships and experiences."

" I agree with you Heather, " admitted Amy, "Harry, I think you may find the idea uncomfortable at first, but I honestly believe that after only a short time you will really enjoy having more and more varied friends and more unique experiences."

"Well, " said Harry slowly, "If you say it can be okay Amy, then I suppose it can be okay. I have my doubts, but I suppose I have no choice but to give it a shot."

"Can you tell us where this new school will be?' asked Susan.

"Not yet, " said Heather aporetically, "It's still under construction, "However I can tell you that I have hired Professors Sprout and Flitwick as my first two members of staff. They will teach Herbology and Charms, respectively. I offered both of them better salaries than Hogwarts and both admitted that they would be only too happy to get away a place that holds such unhappy memories for them."


	37. Dumbledore's Demise

On Thursday, September 26th, 1991, Amelia felt the time was right to recapture Dumbledore and finish his trial.

Amelia used her tracking instrument to find that Dumbledore was hiding on a beach in Fiji. Dumbledore was weak, but still enjoying sunbathing.

As Amelia had anticipated, Dumbledore had been weakened enough by the side effects of Veritasiurium that he made no attempt to resist Amelia's recapture of him.

Amelia apparated them back to the Wizengamot and immediately got back to the business of the trial without preamble.

"Now, " Amelia told Dumbledore icily, "I want you to show us the memory of what you did with Harry on the night his parents died."

Dumbledore lazily obeyed and everyone in the Wizengamot saw the scene where Harry was left on the Dursley's doorstep.

YOU LEFT A BABY ON A DOORSTEP! screamed Augusta Longbottom, who in her anger got up from her seat and clenched her right fist as tightly as she could and gave Dumbledore as hard a smack on the face as she possibly could, earning applause from the rest of the court.

"You deserve that, you worthless piece of trash, " Sarah Anne Perks told Dumbledore in a fiery voice.

"How much have you aided and abetted the Death Eaters over the years?" Amelia grilled Dumbledore.

"I passed a lot of information to both the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself though my beloved Severus Snape, " spilled Dumbledore, "Snape was an excellent spy who passed along plenty of information of his own accord, but I also gave Snape other information to give the Dark Lord and did so regularly. Information aside, the biggest way I helped the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord was to provide the Slytherins an environment free of repercussions and therefore free of fear while at Hogwarts. This allowed young Death Eaters to develop without fear of consequences."

"And what has the teacher hiring process at Hogwarts been like under your influence?" continued Amelia.

"There have been no requirements to be hired for a teaching post at Hogwarts since I've been headmaster, " admitted Dumbledore, "I've mostly done it on a first come first serve basis, except for Snape, who I made sure got a job."

"That's how the Quirrells of the world have gotten through, " said Amelia through gritted teeth, "You'd have probably even given that phony ass Gilderoy Lockhart a job if he'd applied for one."

"Yes, I would have", confirmed Dumbledore.

"The non-teaching by Hogwarts teachers and lack of qualification by Hogwarts teachers has set Wizarding Britain back two fucking decades, " said Amelia bitterly, "But tell me, do you have plans to help Lord Voldemort return?"

"The Dark Lord is planning to make a potion to get his body back, " spilled Dumbledore, "This potion is an ancient piece of Dark Magic requiring bone of his father, flesh of a servant, and blood of an enemy."

"The darkest of the dark potions, " spat Amelia, "Whose flesh does he plan to use?"

"Barty Crouch Jr's, but I plan on trying to convince him to change to Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew will rejoin the Dark Lord in a nanosecond if he thinks the Dark Lord can become strong and powerful again. Pettigrew framed Sirius Black for his own death as well as twelve muggle deaths by cutting off his finger and transforming into a rat while shouting at the street that Sirius had betrayed the Potters."

"Sirius Black will have to be given a new trial, " declared Amelia, "But Barty Crouch Jr. is supposed to be dead as well. "

"His father smuggled him out of Azkaban with everyone thinking he was his mother. His mother, knowing she was dying, took Polyjuice Potion to help him escape. His father keeps him under the Imperius Curse to stop him seeking Lord Voldemort, but Voldemort believes his own Imperius Curse is stronger than Barty Crouch Senior's, so he has plans to go to the Crouch's house and use the Imperius Curse on senior to get junior back into his service."

"More for this court to look into, " said Amelia wearily, "Do you know of any other Death Eaters still loyal to Voldemort?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange, " answered Dumbledore, "Bella is the Dark Lord's favorite, though I hope to take that title from her someday. And for what it's worth, the Dark Lord plans Harry Potter to be the enemy he takes blood from for this potion."

"Is that just his hatred of Harry?" Inquired Amelia.

"The Dark Lord believes Harry Potter's blood will make him stronger than any other blood because he believes that the power of Harry's mother's sacrifice would then reside in him too. Whether this has any merit is unclear. Either way, I just hope that the Dark Lord rises again and I can help rule the world with him "

"Well, " said Amelia in a businesslike voice, "We have plenty to go on, Please raise your hand if you are in favor of convicting Dumbledore on all charges,"

Every single hand in the courtroom shot into the air. Some witches and wizards, including Patrick and Patricia Patil, actually raised both of their hands.

"Convicted on all charges, " said Amelia coldly, "Dumbledore, we the Wizengamot, do hereby find you guilty of child neglect, child abuse, child endangerment, manipulation, theft, framing, withholding of evidence, using a position of power for personal gain, abuse of power, the illegal sealing of a will, deprivation of educational opportunity, aiding and abetting Dark witches and wizards including Death Eaters, aiding and abetting Lord Voldemort, possession of dangerous and dark creatures, possession of dangerous and dark objects, murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to attempt to return Lord Voldemort to power."

Dumbledore said nothing. In his weakened state he just let it all play out.

"What should this piece of shit's punishment be?" asked Amelia.

"I suggest the Dementor's Kiss, " growled Augusta Longbottom, "I mean, he doesn't really have a soul anyway."

"He may not deserve to keep his soul, " ackwoneleged Patrick Patil, "But he needs to suffer before he's put down, just like Lucius did."

"And Dumbledore was way worse than Lucius, " added Patricia Patil, "I'm all for Dumbledore being given the Dementor's Kiss, but only after he's gone through some suffering first."

"Exactly, " said Sarah Anne Perks.

"There is a room in the Department of Mysteries known as the Aging Room where some criminals have previous served sentences, " explained Amelia, "This room causes you to age in the sense that your sight, hearing, walking, breathing, moving, etc., will grow progressively worse every nanosecond you are in the room. The kicker is that room will never kill you. The room does not extend life, so a person who was going to die still would, but the room itself won't kill you. How about a sentence of a fortnight in the Aging Room followed by the Dementor's Kiss at the end of it?" suggested Amelia.

There was a muttering of assent to this.

So Amelia bound Dumbledore, who in his weak state made no attempt to escape, and apparated them to the Aging Room.

Dumbledore, already in a weak state, immediately felt his muscles ache, his breathing slow, his walk become a task, and his range of vision and hearing reduced by several feet. This room had the greatest effect on those who were already weak.

"Help me, " pleaded Dumbledore desperately, "Amelia, please, this room is torturing me. Help me and get me out of here."

"You never helped anyone expect Slytherins, Death Eaters, and Dark Lords, " said Amelia frostily, "So no one is coming to help you now. This is your comeuppance for everything you've done. Good riddance."

And Amelia disapparated without a nanosecond of regret.

The Aging Room proved a very severe comeuppance for Dumbledore. The effects of the room only got worse every day Dumbledore stayed in it and by the end of the two weeks he was almost blind and almost deaf, but still very conscience and still very much feeling the aches, pains, stiffness, and immobility of old age.

At the end of the two week period, Dumbledore was given the Dementor's Kiss, never to be seen, heard from, or interfere ever again.


	38. The Closure

On Tuesday, October 1st, 1991, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all came down to breakfast complaining about their hair itching.

Harry giggled.

"I got you good!" smirked Harry.

"You?" chorused Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Last night while you were all asleep, I snuck into each of your rooms and put invisible itching powder in your combs. I did promise that I would get you back for the prank you pulled on me when I first arrived here."

"Oh, " remembered Heather, "You three snuck up on Harry and scared him by chorusing "BOO!" from behind while Harry was taking his first look at his room. Harry did say he would get you back. I guess now he has."

Amy, Susan, and Hannah gave off wry smiles. They had quite forgotten the prank they had pulled on Harry and his promise to get them back, which had allowed to catch them off guard.

"How long will the itching last?" asked Amy.

"Twenty four hours!" grinned Harry, "Enjoy having an itchy first day of October, Amy, Susan, and Hannah!"

"For me it's going to be a busy first day of October, " sighed Heather, "I've been named as an emergency member to the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Professor Sprout is going to come be your guardian for the day."

So, after a breakfast of pancakes, sausage patties, and Budweiser for the five of them, Heather left, and Professor Sprout arrived

Heather had told Professor Sprout that she would rather the kids not start any new lessons that day and that Sprout could have the kids spend the way in any way she chose. Sprout chose to do some leisurely reading to the kids, first reading them the Magician's Nephew in the morning, and then, after a lunch of ham and turkey subs with pickles, lettuce, and mustard and Michelob to wash it down with, she read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the afternoon. The Yellow Quartet enjoyed both stories immensely and when Heather finally come home around three o'clock it was with BIG news.

"Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Professor Sprout, " said Heather happily, "A decision has been reached that Hogwarts will permanently close at the end of this academic year."

"Was it ultimately felt that the necessary changes couldn't be made to Hogwarts?" asked Professor Sprout.

"We did discuss potential improvements to the school, " explained Heather, "But the majority opinion was that Hogwarts was not worth saving. Many parents simply didn't want their kids to stay at Hogwarts after the negative experiences their kids have had there. They'd just as soon the kids get a fresh start at a new school. I've convinced some of them to send their kids and wards to my new school next September."

"Was there just too much emotional damage from what happen with Snape and Dumbledore around?" asked Professor Sprout.

"That's part of it, but the truth is that there was a lot wrong with Hogwarts even before Dumbledore and Snape turned up, " said Heather bitterly.

"Just as well, I took the Herbology job at your new school anyway, so Hogwarts closing won't cost me anything, " smiled Professor Sprout.

"Truthfully, " piped up Harry, "I know Slytherin gets the bad rap, but Gryffindor and Ravenclaw weren't exactly all that great either. They too believed in segregating students based on their own values. From its earliest days, value indoctrination was the norm at Hogwarts instead of learning to think for one's self."

"That is a major reason why Hogwarts was such a poor school, " said Heather bluntly, "The environment at Hogwarts was to group like people together while separating them from those who were different. That lead to a shallow educational experience for most Hogwarts students."

"But, " guessed Amy, "The old pure blood lines would never tolerate a Hogwarts without houses."

"Many old wizarding families swear by the "tradition" of houses, " confirmed Heather, "My guess is that many of their parents and guardians will send their kids and wards to Durmstrang next year."

"That doesn't surprise me, " said Professor Sprout, "They'll probably love that Durmstrang students actually learn the Dark Arts."

"Too true, "agreed Heather.

"I know this complaint will seem too trivial, " said Susan slowly, "But during the very brief time I was at Hogwarts I honestly thought the campus was too big."

"It was, " agreed Heather matter of factly, "Finding classes could be hell on earth sometimes and the truth is there was WAY more corridor space than necessary at Hogwarts, not to mention the unnecessary trick stairways. The campus at my new school will be much smaller. Every room on a single floor with only as much corridor as is reasonably necessary to walk between classes. And while every student will get their own dorm room, there be a single building to house the students rather than four buildings. A smaller but not tiny campus will make for a more efficient campus that will be more comfortable for students."

"What will happen to the land Hogwarts now sits on?" asked Hannah curiously.

"It will be repurposed. How is not yet known, " said Heather simply.

"I suggest turning it into a Wizarding hospital, " said Hannah briskly, "St Mungo's gets pretty crowded at times. Wouldn't having a second wizarding hospital in Britain help relive their load a bit?"

"That's a fantastic idea, Hannah, " said Heather approvingly, "I will take this suggestion to the powers that be next time I get the chance."

"Thank you, mom, " said Hannah gratefully.

"I don't disagree with closing Hogwarts, " said Harry clearly, "But how many people will lose their jobs because of Hogwarts closing?"

"Only Filch and any incompetent teachers, " explained Heather patiently, "House elves can almost always find work and the competent teachers will find teaching posts elsewhere. Amongst those still at Hogwarts, Filch, Binns, and McGonagall stand to lose the most with the demise of Hogwarts."

"No reason to sympathize with any of them!" exclaimed Harry.

"No, " agreed Heather.

"Was the holistic view at this point that Hogwarts was too completely broken to be worth trying to fix? asked Harry.

"Indeed, " replied Heather.


	39. Meeting Sirius

October passed mostly uneventfully for The Yellow Quartet.

On Tuesday, October 29th, 1911, morning, as Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather were enjoying a breakfast of french toast sticks, bacon strips, and Michelob, Heater turned to Harry.

"Harry, " said Heather clearly, "I have good news for you. You remember that Sirius Black is innocent?"

"Yes, " said Harry simply.

"Well, he is your godfather, " explained Heather, "He will have to lie low until he can be tried. Apparently, he never even got a trial the first time. I have made arrangements with Amelia to allow Sirius access to this house. Remember that I am the secret keeper of Abbott Manor. "

"If he is my godfather and he is innocent, then I would like to meet him, " said Harry clearly.

Next nanosecond, Amelia apparated in with a man who must be Sirius.

"Harry!" said Sirius eagerly, running up and engulfing Harry in a tight hug, "It's been way too long pup!"

"Yeah, Dumbledore fucked it all up for us, " said Harry bitterly.

"True, " said Sirius, "But I'm glad I have the opportunity to meet you at last."

"Sirius, " asked Harry urgently, "How aware are you of current events?"

"Amelia has told me everyone that has happened since the so-called Yellow Quartet was bought to Abbott Manor, " confirmed Sirius.

"Very well, but If you are my godfather, " asked Harry slowly, "And if my mom and dad preferred you as my guardian if they died, then you must have been close with them"

"James and I hit it off on the Hogwarts Express, " said Sirius fondly, remembering the moment, "We were inseparable after that. Even now, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss James. Still, I cherish every nanosecond I did get to spend with him, and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything."

"I actually had a very similar experience with meeting Amy, Susan, and Hannah, " smiled Harry.

"I know who Susan and Hannah must be, they have the classic Bones and Abbott physical appearances, " smirked Sirius, "So the Albino girl is Amy by process of elimination."

"Very good, Sirius, " said Harry brightly.

"Harry, my friends nickname for me in my schoolboy days was Padfoot because I am an animagus. I can turn into a dog."

"Prove it, " said Amy eagerly.

In response, Sirius assumed his dog form.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather were all impressed and burst into applause without even thinking about it.

"That's super cool, " beamed Harry, "But I've got to ask, was my dad an animagus too?"

"Yes, " said Sirius proudly, "His animagus form was a stag and we called him prongs. "

"Wicked!" grinned Harry.

"I didn't get along with my parents because they were bigoted pure blood supremacists, " explained Sirius, "It got so bad that I ran away from home at sixteen. I went to James's place. To their credit, your paternal grandparents were really great about it. Though they never formally adopted me, I was always treated like a son at the Potter's."

"Maybe you could tell me more about my dad and his parents sometime?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Absolutely, " smiled Sirius, "Naturally I became closer with Lily after she married James. Lily was always very kindhearted. James and I actually had a werewolf friend named Remus Lupin who we called Moony. Remus had to deal with a lot judgementalism, but Lily was one of the very few people to accept him for who he was."

"If I may ask, " said Harry slowly, "Were you or either of my parents close with Amelia or Heather? I only ask because I know that after you and Lupin that Amelia and Heather were next on the list of preferred guardians."

"We all knew Amelia and Heather, " explained Sirius, "But we honestly weren't that close with them. Your parents simply felt like if none of us could look after you that they would be the best choices. We knew they were they trustworthy and James and Lily thought no matter who raised you that being exposed to Susan and Hannah would be good for you. They felt strongly about the importance of you having friends of your age."

"It's happening now, " beamed Harry, "Though Heather wants to put a damper on it at her new school next year. She wants each of us to join a different school club without the others."

"Harry, again, " said Heather clearly, "I'm NOT trying to break up the Yellow Quartet. You'll still be able to see each other every day. I just want all of you to expand your circles. Doing different things with different people is healthy."

"Sorry, pup, but I agree with Heather here, " said Sirius firmly, "As much as I love and cherish the time I got to spend with James and Remus, I legitimately regret never talking with anyone else at school. Expanding your circle and having different experiences with different people will lead to a more fulfilling life."

"Sirius is EXACTLY RIGHT!" piped up Amy, "We CAN be best friends without having a monopoly on each other's time."

"I wish I had understood that concept back in the day, " said Sirius.

They all then went outside so that Sirius could watch Harry fly. Sirius had been disappointed when Amelia had told him Harry wasn't interested in Quidditch but was still excited to see Harry fly.

"Oh, my goodness, " said Sirius in an awestruck voice as he watched Harry fly around the yard, "Man, how I wish James could see this. He would be so happy and proud."

"As a matter of interest, " inquired Harry, "Do you know if dad ever bought me a toy broomstick when I was a baby?"

"Actually, " grinned Sirius, "I was I who did that. I gave your parents a toy broomstick for you as a first birthday present!"

Harry beamed.

"That's awesome!" said Harry glowingly, "Knowing my godfather bought me my first broomstick makes me so happy. Of course, just being able to meet you is making my insides radiate with warmth."

"The feeling is mutual, " beamed Sirius.

Come lunchtime they had spicy chicken breasts and legs, which was Sirius's favorite meal. Heather made it a point to make sure Sirius's favorite food was served for his first meal there.

By the end of the day Harry felt as uplifted as he had in a long time.

Meeting his godfather had been truly special.


	40. Happy Halloween

A/N: My own take on Harry not being interested on Quidditch is that I believe that with Harry's upbringing that he would not enjoy physical/contact sports.

On Halloween morning, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah went down to the dining room for breakfast to find that the house had been decked out for Halloween. There were nine hundred octillion orange and black balloons floating from the ceiling and large orange banner with black creepy lettering reading Happy Halloween across had been pinned to the wall.

After a breakfast of waffles, sausage links, and Jim Beam, Heather said, "Stay seated, Yellow Quartet. Sirius and Amelia, you know what to do."

Sirius and Amelia disappeared and retuned a minute and a nanosecond later with four hollowed out pumpkins, each of them carrying one in each hand.

Sirius set the pumpkin he was carrying in his left hand down by Harry and the one he was carrying in his right hand down by Amy.

Amelia set the pumpkin she was carrying in her left hand down by Susan and the one she was carrying in her right hand down by Hannah.

"Okay, " said Heather cheerfully, "You can use simple magic to make Jack O Lanterns. Now, all you have to do is point your wand at your Jack O Lantern and say "Jackify while creating an imagine in your mind of what you want your Jack O Lantern to be. Since it is easy magic, why don't all four of you try it at once."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all raised their wands at the exact same nanosecond and pointed them at their respective pumpkins.

"JACKIFY!" chorused Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

As Sirius, Amelia, and Heather had hoped, each one of the Yellow Quartet had created a different kind of Jack O Lantern.

Harry's Jack O Lantern took the form of a fwooper while Amy's was a dog, Susan's was a hippogriff, and Hannah's was a kneazle.

All four Jack O Lanterns had perfect form for what they were supposed to be and Sirius, Amelia, and Heather burst into applause.

"Way to go kiddos, " grinned Sirius.

"I love how all of you used something different, " beamed Amelia.

"I like that none of you went the traditional Jack O Lantern of just a face, " piped up Heather, "But would each of you please why you chose the form you did."

"I really liked the fwooper birds when we did that Care of Magical Lesson, " said harry brightly, "I found I was drawn to the birds. Fwoopers are beauftul, happy and content birds. I think they represent everyone that is good about the peaceful life."

"Heather did tell me you were the only one to silence your fwooper on your first attempt during that lessons, " said Sirius fondly.

"As for me, " said Amy, grinning at Sirius, "I was really impressed by your transformation into a dog, so dogs have been on my mind the last few days.

Next nanosecond, Sirius transformed into a dog again. This time, Amy went up to the dog that Sirius now was and petted him. In response, the dog licked her hand. Sirius then transformed back into himself with both he and Amy giggling.

"I've found myself taking a liking to Sirius, " said Amy warmly.

"The feeling is mutual, " replied Sirius happily.

"It's hard to explain, " said Harry with a wide smile, "But the two of you seem naturally drawn to each other. I suppose sometimes things just click."

"Yep, " said Sirius.

"I chose a hippogriff because I just like how hippogriffs have strong bonds with their owners and are very loyal, but how that has to be earned, " explained Susan, "I like how you have to earn the respect and loyalty of hippogriffs by being respectful and loyal yourself."

"I'm so proud to hear you say that, " said Amelia sincerely, "I've always tried to raise you to vale respect and loyalty above all else and you've clearly bought into that. But I also appreciate that you understand that respect and loyalty are earned and not given."

"I went with a kneazle because I admire the intelligence of the creatures, " said Hannah matter of factly.

"Kneazles are amongst the smartest magical creatures known to exist, " said Heather admittingly, "They're certainly the most intelligent species of cats."

Come lunchtime, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Amelia, and Heather all enjoyed a lunch of tacos with black shells for Halloween and a side of tater tots with Johnnie Walker to wash it down with.

After lunch, Heather asked Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, "Do you four remember that naked water balloon fight you had?'

"YES! cried Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah eagerly.

"Well, you're going to have another one again today, but with only orange and black water balloons, " smiled Heather.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah followed Sirius, Amelia and Heather outside and took their clothes off and quickly found the pile of orange and black water balloons.

As Sirius watched the kids naked water balloon fight, he turned to Heather and Amelia and said "These kids are obviously extremely comfortable with each other. None of the four mind the others seeing them naked at all. This is a great sign of a strong relationship."

As with the previous time, none of the knew who had won the water balloon fight and that was just fine with all of them. The phrase "Just for fun, " was what this was all about to Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

After redressing and going back inside, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah found Topsy waiting for them with a plate of mini cookies.

The cookies were in the shapes of pumpkins, bats, cats, ghosts, and spiders. The pumpkin and cat shaped cookies had orange frosting on top, the bat and spider shaped ones had chocolate frosting, and the ghost shaped ones had vanilla frosting.

"Everyone can take a few, " said Heather happily.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Amelia, and Heather each ate three of the mini cookies and they were delicious. Topsy's work was top notch as always.

This had been an enjoyable day. They had all been able to put their more serious concerns aside for a day and just enjoy Halloween.

"Happy Halloween, " chorused, Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Amelia, and Heather joyfully.


	41. A Chilling Surprise

As October gave way to November, the joy of Halloween faded fast as Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Heather, and Sirius got a brutal reminder that just because Snape, Lucius, and Dumbledore were all gone didn't mean there was no danger.

It was on the very morning of Friday, November 1st, 1991 that Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Heather, and Sirius got their brutal wake up call about the threats that still loomed in the world.

Heather was just about to explain what lesson they were going to pursue on that day when they all felt a sudden and unnatural cold.

Then they heard slow rattling breaths.

Looking up, they saw that two dementors had entered the house and were approaching them.

Harry, remembering their Patronus lesson, quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at the two dementors.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" cried out Harry.

Next nanosecond, an enormous silver stag erupted from Harry's wand and immediately chased after the two dementors, which quickly glided out of and away from the house in defeat.

"Wew!" sighed Sirius, "That was scary!"

"Scary and concerning, " added Heather, "It's a good thing that I taught the Yellow Quartet the Patronus Charm. But I've had a bad feeling for a while that dementors could be an issue for us."

"Who do you think sent them?" Harry asked Heather.

"The thing is that there's no certainty that anyone sent them, " explained Heather nervously, "Dementors are more than capable of becoming out of control on their own. My suspicion is that these dementors escaped from the Azkaban prison they are supposed to be guarding. Because of the overall nature of dementors, it is not impossible that the dementors ended up here randomly."

"No that's not impossible and that's the scariest part of the thing, " said Sirius with a chill in his voice, "it's also possible that they were sent after me. Fudge believes firmly in my guilt and if he knows I'm here I could easily see him trying to slyly finish me off."

"They could just as easily have been sent after me, " said Harry gravely, "I'm always going to have enemies you know."

"We can't dismiss that possibility, " agreed Heather.

"My honest gut feeling is that they are simply random out of control dementors that are out of control of their own accord, " said Amy coldly, "Which in some ways, might be the scariest possibility of them all."

"That is why Fudge is either incredibly ignorant or incredibly arrogant to continuously insist that we are all only safe in beds at night because the dementors are guarding Azkaban, " fretted Heather, "The cold hard truth is that dementors can NEVER be trusted."

"I'm honestly still terrified at the prospect of dementors siding with Death Eaters and Voldemort should Voldemort ever return to power, "said Harry squeamishly, "I know every effort is being made to keep Voldemort out of power but the dementors would be his natural ally if he ever came back."

"Harry did an awesome job driving them away, "said Sirius proudly, "It looks like a practical lesson paid off."

"Somehow, someway, I just knew that lesson was needed early on. I wish it wouldn't have been necessary, but I'm grateful Harry was able to do what he did, " said Heather tonelessly.

"What do we do about the dementors now?" asked Susan.

"Keep our guard up, " replied Heather, "We can't do much to keep the dementors out. We just have to fight them back when they come."

"A world with out of control dementors in it is a creepy thing, " observed Hannah.

"Man, " said Harry wryly, "After the pure joy of Halloween, what a brutal reminder of the reality we live in."

"There can't too many worse surprises to start a month than to have dementors visit your house, " agreed Heather.

"Well, " said Harry determinedly, "At least we're prepared to deal with it."


	42. A Sirius Discussion

The dementor attack had left all the residents of Abbott Manor feeling very uneasy. While the only people who had successfully accessed Abbott Manor since Heather had brought the Yellow Quartet to Abbott Manor had been people Heather had given permission to do so, the dementor attack left them feeling more vulnerable in their bubble than they had before.

The day after the attack, Amelia dropped in.

"I need to talk to Sirius, " said Amelia clearly, "It doesn't have to be in private, but I need to talk to him about a few things."

"Okay, " chorused Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather.

"Sirius, as I saw you transform into a dog on Halloween, I now know that you are an unregistered animagus. You won't get into any trouble for it, but it is my wish that you register your animagus form with the Ministry after your name is cleared just so that we have a record of your being an animagus and what your form is."

"Amelia, if you wish for me to register my animagus form, then I will do so. But, may I offer an argument as to why I think it is better if I don't register?"

"Sure, " smiled Amelia.

"My thinking is this, " said Sirius calmly, "If Voldemort ever does rise again, or if we end up involved in a wizarding war of some kind, be it because of some dark wizard or whatever, I believe my dog animagus could be a value disguise for our side."

Amelia sat back and thought for a minute.

"Sirius, " said Amelia slowly when she finally spoke up, "You are absolutely right. Heck, there could various situations and circumstances in which having an unknown animagus on our side could come in handy. I'll have to point the finger at myself here, since it didn't even occur to me that having an unregistered animagus on our side could actually be useful. "

"You know what you did do though, Amelia?" said Sirius gratefully, "You listened. Not everyone would have had the open mindedness or the humility to listen to my ideas the way you did. I know you by reputation and know you to be far, but my respect for you just went up tenfold."

"That's why the Ministry is so corrupt, " said Amelia fretfully, "There are too many arrogant people at the Ministry like Barty Crouch and Cornelius Fudge who always they're right about everything and are too arrogant to listen to opposing views."

"All too true, " sighed Heather.

"Sirius, " continued Amelia, "The good news I have found a time slot to schedule your trial on Monday morning. I'd like to give you some advice about how you present yourself at the trial."

"I'm listening, " replied Sirius.

"It's going to be particularly important that you present yourself in a calm and professorial manner in order to gain the trust of the Wizengamot. The impression you make on them matters. Stick to the facts, don't lose your temper, don't yell or cuss, and don't display or announce any desires for personal vendettas." explained Amelia, "You may feel the urge to go on a rant against Pettigrew or Dumbledore. Do not. Stay on topic, answer the questions s they are asked of you, and be calm."

"That all makes sense, " said Sirius matter of factly, "What time on Monday morning is my trial?"

"Nine, " said Amelia, "Also, after your name is successfully cleared, you will be allowed to adopt children if you can pass a sanity test. That might not seem relevant at this time but could become a time down the road when it could be very relevant."

"Anything else?" Sirius asked Amelia.

"Even after you are cleared, I want you to stay at Abbott Manor, " explained Amelia clearly, "There will be people who still believe in your guilt for awhile, so it wouldn't be safe for you to go into public or seek out a house of your own. Please remain here unless and until I tell you it's okay for you to leave."

"As long as Harry continues to live here, then so will I even if you do give me that permission, " promised Sirius, "I've got to stick by godson and the continued company of my favorite albino girl is a big plus. If I'm in the company of my godson and my favorite albino girl, why should I want to leave?"

Harry and Amy both grinned at Sirius.

"Well, " said Amelia with a hint of smirk, "Before James and Lily died, you had a reputation. Not as a bad person per se, but as an irresponsible guy who lived life on the edge."

"That was then, this is now, " said Sirius clearly, "All the same, I'll make the Unbreakable Vow with you to never leave Abbott Manor without your permission."

"NO!" said Amelia firmly, "I won't insult your integrity by asking you for an Unbreakable Vow. I do trust you to keep your word. But do give that promise."

"I, Sirius Black, do herby promise Amelia Bones not to leave Abbott Manor without her permission unless and until she says its safe for me to do so, " said Sirius in a crisp and clear voice.

"Thank you, Sirius, " said Amelia kindly, "I think things are looking up for you, Sirius."


	43. Sirius's Hearing

On Monday, November 4th, 1991, Sirius was brought before the Wizengamot for questioning.

"Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, " said Amelia clearly, "It has recently come to our attention that Sirius Black may not necessarily be guilty of the crimes he has been in Azkaban for. Sirius, I am going to ask you a few questions."

"Okay, Amelia, " said Sirius calmly.

Amelia was relieved that Sirius was staying calm as the hearing started. She knew this was a key for Sirius to gain the trust of the witches and wizards of the Wizengamot. She could prove his innocence via Veritasiurium if necessary but there was an opportunity that she hoped to procure for Sirius that she could only even think about asking for if he Wizengamot had gained his trust.

"Who were your best friends at Hogwarts?" Amelia asked Sirius.

"James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, " answered Sirius calmly.

Amelia felt good now. If Sirius could remain calm while saying the name Peter Pettigrew, then he could remain calm throughout the whole hearing.

"Did you remain close with them after Hogwarts?" continued Amelia.

"Yes, " said Sirius matter of factly, "And after James married Lily Evans, I became close to Lily as well."

"Were you at any time a Death Eater?" Amelia grilled Sirius.

"No, " said Sirius matter of factly, "My parents were bigoted pure blood supremacists, but I despised their views and what they stood for. I would never have served Lord Voldemort in any form. I actually ran away from home at sixteen and went to live with James to get away from my parents and their pure blood mania. I always despised any and all forms of the Dark Arts."

"Were you ever the Potters Secret Keeper?" inquired Amelia.

"At the beginning of the period where James and Lily knew that Voldemort was after them, I was. However, and this is where I made my fatal mistake, I convinced James and Lily to change the Secret Keeper to Peter at the last minute. I thought it was the perfect bluff. I thought Voldemort would come after me and would never think that James and Lily might use Peter. I got James and Lily killed because I outthought myself. If I had stayed Secret Keeper, James and Lily wouldn't have died and Harry would have grown up with his parents. Peter told Voldemort where to find James and Lily and.."

Sirius retained his calm, but a sincere look of hurt had come upon his face and a few tears leaked out of his eyes, facts that were noticed by the witches and wizards of the Wizengamot.

"What became of you after James and Lily died?" continued Amelia.

"Peter yelled for whole the street to hear that I'd betrayed James and Lily and cast a spell that tore apart half the street while killing twelve muggles. He then cut off a finger and transformed into a rat. He escaped into the sewer lines and in essence framed me for both the murder of the twelve muggles and his own faked death.'

"I know, " piped up Patricia Patil, "That the only part of Peter Pettigrew that was found was a finger. That actually makes more sense after listening to Mr. Black's version of events."

"Do you know what became of Pettigrew?" Amelia asked Sirius.

"Not for sure, " said Sirius honestly, "My best guess is that he went into hiding out of fear of Voldemort's old supporters. While I've been in Azkaban, I've heard them muttering about how they feel Peter double crossed them under the premise that Voldemort met his downfall after going after James and Lily on Peter's information."

"It's all starting to fit, " said Patrick Patil briskly.

"Mr. Black, " explained Augusta Longbottom, "We already know of your announce due to something Dumbledore let slip under Veritasiurium during his trial. Dumbledore spilled that he put the Imperius Curse on you to make you make James and Lily change their Secret Keeper to Peter."

'This is true, " confirmed Amelia and she showed the memory of what Dumbledore had said about the matter at his trial.

"So, " said Amelia clearly, "You've heard the stories. If you are in favoring of acquitting Sirius Black on all charges, he has been serving time in Azkaban for, then please raise your right hand."

Every witch and wizard on the Wizengamot raised his or her hand.

"Cleared of all charges, " said Amelia happily.

"If I may offer some input, " piped up Sirius, "When it comes to tracking down Peter, look for a rat with a missing toe."

"Thank you, Sirius, " said Amelia, "I have some ideas for what to do about that, but there is another issue to address here."

"Yes?" replied Sirius.

"While I want you to remain at Abbott Manor for the foreseeable future, I believe that perhaps in a couple of years you could be allowed to adopt children. This could be a big thing for you not next summer but summer after, " revealed Amelia.

"Oh, " realized Sirius, "I am Harry's godfather. Are you saying that I could become Harry's actual legal guardian?"

"Yes, " answered Amelia with a genuine smile, "Under Wizarding Law, a wrongly convicted criminal who is later acquitted after a mistake is discovered can have his or her right to adopt children restored. However, this can only occur with a super majority vote from the Wizengamot. So, witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, raise your right hand if you vote to allow Mr. Black to have his right to adopt children restored. "

Again, every witch and wizard on the Wizengamot raised his or her hand.

As Amelia had hoped, Sirius's consistently calm and professional during the hearing had won him the trust of the witches and wizards of the Wizengamot.

"So, when the time comes, I can adopt Harry and become his official legal guardian?"

"Yes, " smiled Amelia.

Amelia now turned to gathering as a whole and said, "Wizengamot dismissed," and in a few minutes and a few nanoseconds it was just Amelia and Sirius in the courtroom.

"Sirius, " beamed Amelia, "Yes, you can adopt Harry when the time comes. But I didn't say child. I said children."

"Is it your wish that I adopt a second child as well when the time comes?" Sirius asked Amelia, now sounding slightly confused.

"Hannah has Heather, Susan has me, and Harry will have you, " replied Amelia, "But Amy has no adult to call hers. "

"You know, " said Sirius thoughtfully, "I really respected what Harry told us about Amy last night when we were talking about how much was lost during the Wizarding War. Hannah lost her dad and Harry and Susan both lost both their dads and their moms. But Harry said that Amy has it the worst of all. Remember that Harry said that he couldn't imagine how it must feel to have your parents alive and healthy and have them not want you. "

"Especially when you consider their reasons for not wanting her, " added Amelia, "Abandoning her at birth because she is an albino was bad enough, but then to find out that they would have abandoned her later anyway because she is a witch."

"The Alworths did seem to have a very Dursleyish attitude towards witches, wizards, and magic when it came to it, " said Sirius in a disgusted voice, "And that part about Amy not having an adult to be able to call hers makes it worse."

"That's where this is ultimately going, " said Amelia matter of factly, "I wish for you to adopt Amy when the time comes. You and Amy already have a great relationship started up so it should work out nicely."

"I would like that, " said Sirius brightly with a broad grin across his face, "Harry and Amy my wards? Well, if I wish upon a star maybe it'll really happen someday."

"It will, " promised Amelia, "Just be patient."


	44. Liveliness Potion Lesson

Later that same afternoon that Sirius had gained his legal freedom, he had returned to Abbott Manor escorted by Sirius.

"I'm legally free, " said Sirius happily to Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, and Heather.

"That's wonderful, " said Heather warmly.

"That's not all, " said Amelia happily, "The Wizengamot voted to allow Sirius to adopt children when the time comes. Sirius will be adopting Harry and Amy down the road."

"Excellent!" chroused Harry and Amy.

"We're going to be staying here for awhile, " said Sirius matter of factly, "But I'm grateful I can be part of your lives going forward."

"So, " said Heather clearly, "With that out of the way, I'm going to do a Liveliness Potion lesson with the Yellow Quartet this afternoon."

"What is Liveliness Potion?" asked Harry curiously.

"Liveliness Potion is used to give energy to lethargic people and is popular with witches and wizards who aren't morning people, " explained Heather.

"Ah, I get it now, " nodded Harry in understanding.

"Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah?" asked Heater politely, "Would you four please kindly go retrieve your cauldrons and meet us in Potions Room?"

"Yes, Heather, " replied Harry, Amy, and Susan while Hannah replied, "Yes, mom."

And so, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all went to their respective rooms and met Heather, Amelia, and Sirius in the Potions Room a minute and a nanosecond later.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah each took a place at a table with the ingredients they needed set out for them.

"Now, " Heather told the Yellow Quartet, "I've decided to take a different approach to teaching you the Liveliness Potion than I have in our other Potions lessons. Rather than write the instructions out for you on the board, I'm going to read you the instructions form the Liveliness Potion one line at a time and have you do that one line of instructions before moving on to giving you the next line of instructions. "

"I think this alternate teaching method will work well," Amelia told Heather approvingly, "Focus on one thing at a time and not try to do too much at once."

"That's my theory, " confirmed Heather, "The thing is, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah have all shown reasonable competence in Potions, but all four of them have had varied results across their Potions lessons, "One observation I've made about Harry's, Amy's, Susan's, and Hannah's Potions skills is that while they all have the ability to do it, there have been too many times where one or more them have "blown" a Potion by forgetting something here or forgetting something there. Therefore, I am choosing a new approach of only looking at one step at a time."

"So, are going to start them, then?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, " said Heather, "Remember, if made correctly, the Liveliness Potion will be sun yellow when it is done."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah nodded in understanding.

"Your first step, "Heather instructed the Yellow Quartet, "Is to fill your cauldrons three fifths full of water.

So, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, all listening attentively, filled their cauldrons three fifths full of water.

"Now, " continued Heather, "Put your cauldrons on the heat until they reach three hundred and fifty degrees.'

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all obliged and put their cauldrons on the heat.

Once all of their cauldrons had reached three hundred and fifty degrees, Heather said in a very serious voice, "Remove your cauldrons from the heat. You MUST remove your cauldrons from the heat before putting the next ingredients. If your cauldrons are still on the heat when the next ingredients are added, explosion can occur. You must be INCREDIBLY careful at this step."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all took their cauldrons back off the heat.

Heather looked closely at Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah and made absolutely sure that they had removed their cauldrons from the heat before giving out the next instructions.

"Next, " piped up Heather, "Add one ounce of dragon liver. "

So, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah measured out an ounce of dragon liver and added it to their cauldrons.

"Now, " went on Heather, "Add two tablespoons of juice of the firefly. Juice of the firefly contributes to the energy of the Liveliness Potion and also starts to brighten its color. Your Potions should be orange after this step."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah each carefully measured out two tablespoons of juice of the firefly and carefully poured it into their cauldrons.

Just as Heather had said should happen, Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all saw their potions turn orange after adding the juice of the firefly.

"This is going really smoothly so far, " observed Amy.

"The perfect shade of orange for this stage, " said Heather in a satisfied voice, "The next step is to add one cup of crushed sunflower seeds. The nanosecond the crushed sunflower seeds are added, that is when your potion should turn sun yellow.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all looked excited at this.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all crushed some sunflower seeds and measured out a cup's worth. To their amazement, all four of their potions went sun yellow the nanosecond they added the crushed sunflower seeds.

"Brilliant!" piped up Harry, "It's really amazing how well the whole process seems to be working! The sun yellow color is making me feel more alive just looking at it!"

"Me too!" chroused Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Now, " said Heather wryly, "You've got to let your potions sit for ten minutes. The old saying about patience being virtue is absolutely a truism of Potions!"

Ten minutes later, Heather resumed, "Wave your wands clockwise over your cauldrons three times to stir the mixture."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all waved their wands over their cauldrons clockwise three times. They could hear their mixtures simmer a bit after doing this.

"Now, " said Heather in a crisp and clear voice, "Now for the last and key ingredient. Add two dried billywig stings. Billywig stings are what give Liveliness Potion the majority of its liveliness and energy, though the juice of the firefly also contributes.'

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah each dropped two dried billywig stings into their cauldrons. Upon the dried billywig stings hitting the mixtures, the mixtures took on a highly active essence, seeming to constantly flow and stir themselves at an extremely rapid rate.

"Now, " finished Heather, "At this stage the Liveliness Potion is actually TOO energetic. To tame a bit, one more round of three clockwise stirs with your wands must be given."

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah all gave their potions these three final stirs and the potions calmed considerably though still flowing noticeably.

"Congratulations, Yellow Quartet!" said Heather glowingly, "All four of you have made perfect Liveness Potions!"

At this, Harry, Amy, Susan Hannah, Heather, Amelia, and Sirius all burst into applause.

"That was a really well run lesson, Heather, " said Amelia approvingly, "Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah are in good hands with you teaching them here."

"Much respect to Heather for self criticizing and self evaluating her own teaching and trying an alternate method, " said Harry respectfully, " That took a lot of humility for her to look in the mirror and say, "You know what? Maybe there's a better way than the way I've been doing it and then going on to find and implement that way."

"Speaking for myself, " said Amy clearly, "I found it quite helpful to have Heather vocalize the instructions instead of just reading them from a board or book. Hearing the instructions out loud really helped me to focus on and remember what I have to do."

"I thought that might be the case, " smiled Heather, "As an extra tip, if you make potions alone, reading the instructions out loud to yourself may be helpful."

"Yep, " agreed Harry, "I also found it easier to focus and concentrate on what I had to do with the one line at a time approach."

"Totally agree with that, " added Susan, "It was less likely to make a mistake, especially a mistake of omission, because we had less on our plates at a time."

"Yeah, " said Hannah warmly, "I think doing it the way we did it today, both the vocalization and the one instruction at a time approached, slowed everything down for me and helped me to be locked in."

"I take this is way you continue to teach the Yellow Quartet Potions?" asked Sirius.

"Hell, yes, " said Heather at once, "I chose to use the alternate method today in the hopes it will help Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah with the Potion making process. As it clearly did, I'm sticking to it."

"Heather, " said Harry gratefully, "Thank you. Thank you for self criticizing yourself and being open to try different things. I, Amy, Susan, and Hannah really benefited as students from this new method."

"I'm very proud if the Yellow Quartet and am sure they have more successes to come, " said Heather proudly.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Heather, Amelia, and Sirius just smiled.


	45. The Yellow Quartet's Animagus Forms

As the Liveliness Potion lesson concluded, it was almost dinnertime.

Amelia spoke up and said, "After dinner, there is something I wish to reveal to the Yellow Quartet. Heather, may I please stay for dinner tonight? I don't want to go home and come back later."

"But of course, Amelia, my BFF since we were schoolgirls together!", replied Heather warmly.

"If I may ask?" interjected Sirius, "Amelia, where do you live and who do you live with?"

"I live at Bones Manor. I've been living alone since Susan left Bones Manor at the start of September, " answered Amelia.

"Have you had any feelings of loneliness and emptiness relating to living alone since Susan left?" Sirius asked Amelia in a concerned voice.

"Regularly, " admitted Amelia uncomfortably, "It's hard to come home from work to an empty house. The times I've visited here have all been very uplifting though. My feelings of loneliness and emptiness would be far worse without these visits."

"Well, " said Sirius seriously, "Heather would have to be the one to make the offer since this is her house, but I really think it would be better for you to stay here and live here until such time as you can take Susan home. Live along isn't good for people. The loneliness and emptiness can be a real struggle."

"I'd be delighted to host Amelia at Abbott Manor for the time being, " said Heather sincerely.

"As I'm the Secret Keeper for Bones Manor just as Heather is the Secret Keeper for Abbott Manor, I could leave Bones Manor for awhile and not have to worry about anybody accessing it that shouldn't, " said Amelia matter of factly, "Heather, I would like to accept the offer, but I'll need to make one trip to Bones Manor to retrieve my clothes, magical supplies, things I need for work, etc. "

"Amelia, you can go make that trip now and I'll have Topsy prepare a room for you, " promised Heather.

"Thank you, Heather, " said Amelia gratefully, "And thank you Sirius for suggesting this."

"Loneliness eats away at people in a very unhealthy way, " said Sirius bluntly, "Trust me, Amelia, this will be better for you and you will see that quickly."

Topsy, who had overheard the conversation, popped in and said, "Mistress Abbott, Topsy will quickly prepare a room for Mistress Bones to stay in and then Topsy will make dinner."

"Thank you, Topsy, " said Heather kindly.

After Topsy had prepared Amelia's room, finishing by placing a name tag with the name Amelia on top of the entrance to the room, she went and prepared dinner.

Amelia retuned and put away her possessions before joining Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, and Heather for dinner.

They all enjoyed a dinner of flame grilled hot dogs with mustard, ketchup, and hot sauce, onion rings, and Jack Daniels and afterwards Amelia said, "Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah, I have some information to reveal to each of you about a certain characteristic of yourselves. "

"And what might that characteristic be?" asked Harry curiously.

"Your animagus forms, " explained Amelia patiently, "To be clear, while Dumbledore dumbed down many of the standards at Hogwarts, this is not such a case. Becoming an animagus is LEGITIMATLY difficult magic. It is also EXTREMELY dangerous magic. For these reasons, wizarding law requires all witches and wizards to be at least sixteen years old before attempting to become animagi. As you're all still about five years too young to attempt to become animagi, I won't describe the long and difficult process involved. You will each have to decide for yourselves when the time comes whether or not you wish to attempt to become animagi. However, there is a spell that can reveal what your animagus form would be if you were to choose to become an animagus. Personally, I think it's good for you to know several years in advance what your animagus forms would be because that information may help you decide whether becoming animagi is something you wish to pursue and you'll have some time to think it over before you make the decision."

"That makes all the sense in the world, " agreed Harry.

""The spell to reveal animagus forms is a complex nonverbal spell, said Amelia clearly, "Only a small handful of highly skilled witches and wizards can perform it, but I'm one of the few who can."

"How does it work?" asked Amy eagerly.

"I will make a few wand movements finishing by pointing my wand at your heart, " answered Amelia, "ALL of the wand movements MUST be 100% precise for this spell to work. That's why it's such a complex non verbal spell. A few seconds and a few nanoseconds after my wand has been pointed at your heart, a virtual image will temporarily appear in front of you showing exactly what you would look like in animagus form.

"100% exact?" asked Susan.

"100% exact!" confirmed Amelia.

"This should be interesting, " piped up Hannah.

"It should, " said Amelia eagerly, "I'll start with Harry."

Amelia retrieved her wand from her right hand pocket and make a few movements before pointing the wand at Harry's heart.

A few seconds and a few nanoseconds later, a virtual plump yellow fwooper appeared in front of Harry.

"That's super cool!" piped up Harry excitedly, "As I pride myself on being part of the Yellow Quartet, I love that my animagus form is yellow. I also love fwoopers, as I feel they represent everything that is good about the peaceful life, being peaceful and content birds. Plus, being a bird animagus would allow me the power of flight without a broom, that would be pretty neat!"

""I hope my animagus form is a dog, " blurted out Amy.

Amelia now performed the spell to reveal animagus forms on Amy and not too long after Amelia's wand had been pointed at Amy's heart, a virtual image of a pure white dog showed itself in front of Amy.

'YES!" yelled Amy, "Woof! Woof!"

"Woof! Woof!' piped up Sirius, grinning at Amy.

"It's perfect, " grinned Amy, "Being an albino, it's so perfect that my animagus form is pure white! AND I get to be a dog. Oh, and I LOVE that my animagus form is the same animal as Sirius's."

"So, " smirked Harry, "Sirius, whose last name is black, has a black dog animagus form, while Amy, who is an albino, has a white dog animagus form. Curious how these things work out sometimes."

"It's wonderful the way Amy and Sirius have taken to each other, " smiled Susan.

At that, without a trace of embarrassment, Amy and Sirius walked up to each other and licked each other on the hand.

"Your turn, Susan, " said Amelia eagerly, excited to see what her niece's animagus from would be.

Almost immediately after Amelia's wand was pointed at Susan's heart, a virtual hippogriff of beauftul stormy gray color was present in front of Susan.

"I'm pleased that my animagus form is a hippogriff, " piped up Susan in a satisficed voice, "Respect and loyalty are the traits I value above all others and hippogriffs really represent that. You must earn their loyalty by respecting them. There's something about that that feels so right to me. I like the gray color as well. To me, the color gray represents non judgmentalism and being able to look at things from multiple points of view instead of just saying, "This is right and that is wrong in black and white terms."

"I'm really proud of you, Susan, " said Amelia genuinely, "You have perspective and maturity beyond your years."

"Thanks, Aunt Amelia, " said Susan glowingly, "And welcome to Abbott Manor. I'm really glad you're joining us."

"I won't be here all the time like Heather and Sirius, " Amelia reminded Susan, "I will still be working."

"All the same, I really appreciate the fact that I'll now get to see you every day, " said Susan gratefully.

"Might as well reveal the last one, " said Amelia cheerfully.

The result of Amelia's wand being pointed at Hannah's heart was a virtual orange kneazle appearing in front of Hannah.

"To be honest, I don't really care about my animagus being orange, " admitted Hannah, "I don't dislike it, but I somehow just don't care what color my animagus form is. I am delighted that my animal is a kneazle though. I'm very fond of kneazles as I admire their true intelligence and disdain for unsavory characters."

"Well, " said Heather happily, "It seems like all four of you are happy with your animagus forms."

"We are!" chroused Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"Do you guys think you'll want to be animagi five years from now when you'll have the opportunity?" Sirius asked Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah.

"YES!" replied Amy at once.

"I don't know yet, " muttered Harry, Susan, and Hannah.

"The thing is, " said Harry in a businesslike voice, "We don't know yet what the process of becoming animagi actually entails. We'll have to learn that before we can even think about that decision. And if there is difficulty and danger involved, we'll need to give the matter serious thought before making a choice."

"That doesn't mean we won't do it, " said Susan matter of factly, "But we should only do it if we are absolutely sure we want to."

"It will need to be a through and thoughtful decision, " added Hannah.

"It is not a decision to be made lightly, " agreed Amelia, "Which is one of the many reasons I support the law requiring witches and wizards to be at least sixteen years old before being allowed to become animagi. There's a lot of responsiblity that comes with the decision."

"Either way, I'm glad we now know our animagus forms, " said Harry brightly.

Harry, Amy, Susan, and Hannah were years away from having any consideration of whether they would pursue becoming animagi. Right now, they were just really glad to know their animagus forms and they were all immensely satisfied with their forms.


	46. Fumbling Fudge

A/N: Regarding animagus forms, I'd pass on ANY aquatic creature due to the extremely limited use of such an animagus form and I'd just never want to be any insect.

The next morning, as Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Heather, and Amelia were enjoying a breakfast of pancakes, bacon strips, and Budweiser, Harry noticed that Amelia looked happier than he had ever seen her since he'd first met her.

"You look like you're in a good mood today, Amelia, " said Harry observantly.

"Moving in here for the time being was the best thing that could have happened for me, " said Amelia gratefully, "It was so nice to wake up this morning and actually find myself in a house with the company of other people. Thank you, Sirius, for suggesting that I move in here and thank you, Heather, for permitting it."

But Sirius and Heather didn't get a chance to respond because that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet had arrived in Amelia's lap.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Heather, and Amelia all felt chills as they saw the headline.

**Rouge dementors recaptured. Fudge unconcerned about incident, defends use of dementors at Azkaban.**

What really worried Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Heather, and Amelia was the second part. They were sure the rogue dementors were the ones they'd fought at the start of the month. It seemed as though the dementors hadn't done much damage, but Fudge's attitude was very concerning.

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Heather, and Amelia read the article which described.

"in the early hours of Friday, November 1st, 1991, it was discovered that two dementors had gone missing from Azkaban. Ministry intelligence later discovered that the dementors had turned up at the wizarding residence Abbott Manor. Fortunately, the inhabitants of Abbott Manor were able to drive the dementors back by using the Patronus Charm against them. This morning, the rogue dementors, which were on the loose without seeming to care what they were doing, were recaptured and returned to Azkaban. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge downplayed the rogue dementors Tuesday morning, much to the anger of many in the wizarding community.

"Dementors escaping and getting loose is rare and no damage was done, " said an irritated Fudge, "I have received numerous owls this morning from parents and people who wish that Azkaban be removed from the control of the dementors. That is NOT happening. People are freaking out too much about something that's actually pretty rare. It's been six years since this last happened so let's not lose our minds. Many of us only feel safe on our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban."

Many parents were furious.

"It doesn't matter how often it happens, it's how dangerous it is when it does happen, " said an enraged Patrick Patil, "What if those dementors got to my daughters? It only takes once you know."

Mr. Patil's anger was shared by many in the wizarding community.

"Our so called leader is just blowing off an exceedingly dangerous situation, " said a furious Augusta Longbottom, "Bear in mind too that these dementors could easily turn on us and side with dark witches and wizards if it came to it. I for one, feel much LESS safe in my bed because the dementors are guarding the darkest of witches and wizards. I fear great horrors will eventually come of ever using such vicious creatures as dementors."

Informed of the objections, Fudge held firm.

"People are in a bit of shock now but when cooler heads prevail, they'll understand why we need the dementors at Azkaban."

Harry, Amy, Susan, Hannah, Sirius, Heather, and Amelia all threw very disgusted looks at the paper now sitting on the table in front of them.

""I'm skeptical of the no damage done part, " said Harry uneasily, "Those dementors were on the loose several days."

"Well, " said Amelia bitterly, "With Fudge in charge, he's the type who would cover stuff up. But even if there really was no damage done, Fudge's attitude is way too dismissive."

"The dementors being on the loose at all should be alerting Fudge to the dangers of using and trusting them, but, sadly, that's not happening, " said Heather wearily.

"I'm with Harry, " said Sirius uneasily, "I'm skeptical of the no damage done part, Fudge IS the type who will cover things up and not report things. I can tell you point blank that dementors NEVER distinguish between the one they hunt and the one that stands in their way. "

"And even if they really didn't do any damage this time, " piped up Susan nervously, "Every time there is a rogue dementor is a time of great danger. Fudge is being downright careless in continuing to align with these creatures. "

"And he's not even listening to the people who are trying to bring it to his attention!" said Hannah indignantly.

"Fudge is weak, " said Amelia coldly, "He refuses to ever admit to any danger exiting in the wizarding world because he doesn't want to deal with it."

"He's also too proud, " said Heather frostily, "He won't even consider breaking his alignment with the dementors because he doesn't want to admit he was wrong to align with them in the first place. "

"He's also politically motivated, " said Sirius bitterly, "He fears the wrath of certain witches and wizards who are pro dementor."

"The other thing " said Amy clearly, "Is that creatures such as dementors, lethifolds, etc., are the natural allies of dark witches and wizards."

"Yes!" agreed Harry firmly, "Mark my words, if Voldemort ever returns, the dementors will side with him in a nanosecond, "

"Well, " said Heather wryly, "I'm glad the rogue dementors were recaptured, but as a parent and a guardian, I share the concerns of Mr. Patil. ALL people are in danger if dementors are on the loose."

"Well, " said Amy slowly, "Nothing we can do. We just have to stay alert and be prepared to defend ourselves if needed."

"Fudge will never see sense, " said Amelia bitterly, "He's too vein, too arrogant, and too weak to be a good minster of magic. Well I've got to go to work now."

And when Amelia did get to work, Steven Secret had some hopeful news for her.

"Amelia, " said Steven urgently, "Intelligence by the Department of Mysteries believes we have identified another horcrux. "


	47. Third Horcrux Eliminated

"Amelia, " said Steven seriously, "I recently sent a team of unspeakables to Gringotts. Their job was to investigate all of the vaults at Gringotts and search for any items or objects that produced that distinctive horcrux heartbeat sound. The unspeakables have the authority to search and investigate the vaults at Gringotts but NEVER have the authority to remove anything. All they can do is report anything suspicious. As the goblins would not understand the nature of horcruxes, I instructed the unspeakables not to tell the goblins about any horcrux issues. The unspeakables told the goblins that nothing was amiss after their investigations, which aren't totally unusual, but an unspeakable named Otto Observe informed me that he could hear that distinct horcrux heartbeat on a small golden cup in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."

"What do we do now then?" Amelia asked Steven.

"No witch or wizard, other than Bellatrix herself, will be able to remove the cup. And if you try to use Polyjuice Potion, well that won't work. All high security vaults are bewitched with the Thief's Downfall, a curse that washes away all enchantments, including and especially imposter disguises, the nanosecond a person other than the owner of the vault enters it, " explained Steven calmly.

"What do you suggest we do?" Amelia asked Steven.

Amelia felt certain from Steven's calmness that he had a plan.

"House elves can apparate into and out of the vaults without detection, Gringotts and its spells do not recognize house elf magic. A ministry house elf could be assigned to apparate into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, remove the golden cup, and bring it back to the Ministry of Magic. I would then take it back to the Dark Magic Room where I would conjure Fiendfyre to destroy it, just like with the diary, " explained Steven.

"House elves are experts at very precise apparition and disapparation, " mused Amelia, "I think what we should do is tell the house elf we assign to this task to disapparate from Bellatrix's vault directly into the Dark Magic room. In that way the cup won't be seen around the Ministry and arouse curiosity. But as soon as the house elf has the cup in the Dark Magic room, we let him go so that we don't put him at any risk from the Fiendfyre."

"Very well. " said Steven, "I will go up to Ministry House Elf Room and inform the house elf Troggle that his services are needed."

"He's the best one for this job, " agreed Amelia, "Have at it. I'll wait in the Dark Magic Room."

"Okay, " said Steven simply.

Steven retrieved his wand from his right hand pocket and a piece of parchment form his left hand pocket and proceeded to the Ministry House Elf Room.

"Troggle, " called out Steven and a big house elf with large hands came forward.

Next nanosecond, Steven pointed his wand at the parchment and a set of instructions appeared on it that he quickly handed to Troggle.

Steven then went to meet Amelia in the Dark Magic Room.

Troggle quickly read the instructions and the parchment then collapsed and disintegrated.

Troggle appaarated into Bellatrix's vault.

As house elves have very sharp vision, with particularly good periphery vision, Troggle quickly found the golden cup he had been instructed to bring back to the Dark Magic Room.

Troggle quietly picked up the cup and disapparated from Bellatrix's vault and reappeared in the Dark Magic Room.

"Well done, Troggle, " said Steven and Amelia together.

"Troggle, you've done your job and done it well, " said Steven proudly, "You need to return to the Ministry House Elf Room now."

And Troggle returned to his room

Steven now held the cup up to his right ear.

"This is definitely a horcrux, " said Steven firmly, "The heartbeat is unmistakable.".

Amelia, with a sinking feeling in her heart, saw a badger engraving on the cup.

"A badger?" piped up Amelia sadly, "Then this cup would have belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"You know, Amelia, " said Steven wisely, "If Voldemort would take artifacts from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and turn them into horcruxes, I've got to think he turned an artifact of Slytherin into a Horcrux as well."

"You're probably right about that, Steven, " said Amelia matter of factly.

"But we've got a task at hand, " said Steven in a serious voice as he refocused.

"You know what to do, Steven, " said Amelia respectfully, "I'll stay here to supervise you."

And so, Steven raised his wand and performed a nonverbal spell to create the needed Fiendfyre, immediately stepping back from it and throwing the golden cup into it.

Steven quickly doused the flame to see the golden cup had been charred. Steven picked it up and it crumbled into ash, which Steven vanished.

"Well, " said Steven in a satisficed voice, "If our theory about the horcruxes is correct, they are half gone now."

"We've definitely made progress, " said Amelia in a businesslike voice, "If we can get rid of all the horcruxes before Voldemort can rise again, we'll have an advantage over him he won't know about."

"That's why identifying what the horcruxes are and finding and destroying them is the number one priority at the Department of Mysteries right now, " said Steven seriously, "We know what could be at stake here."


End file.
